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OJut    ihtrrc^  (    JoarcLottt 


THE 


Duchess  of  Angouleme 

AND    THB 

TWO    RESTORATIONS 

BY 

IMBERT    DE    SAINT-AM  AND 


TRANSLATED  BY 

JAMES     DAVIS 


WITH  PORTRAIT 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 

1897 


vi^C 


155 


COPYRIGHT,   1892,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS. 


MANHATTAN  PRESS 

474  W.  BROADWAY 

NEW  YORK 


CONTENTS 

PART  FIRST 
THE   FIRST  RESTORATION 

CHAPTER  FAGB 

I.  Calais , 1 

II,  CoMPliGNE 8 

III.  Saint-Ouen „ . .  2S 

IV.  The  Entry  into  Pakis 31 

V.  The  Allies 41 

VI.  The  Court 51 

VII.  The  City 64 

VIII.  The  King 76 

IX.  Monsieur 93 

X.  The  Dukks  of  ANGOULfiMB  anu  of  Berry  .......  99 

XI.  Madame 108 

XII.  The  Orleans  Family , 129 

XIII.  The  Family  of  Conde 141 

XIV.  The  F£te  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville 151 

XV.  The  Distribution  of  Flags 161 

XVI.  Saint-Denis 167 

XVII.  The  Beginning  of  1815 179 

XVIII.  The  Return  of  Napoleon 188 

XIX  Thk  Royal  Assemblage 202 

T 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX.  The  King's  Dkpabture 208 

XXI.  Bordeaux 224 

XXII.  London 245 

XXIII.  Ghent 254 

PART  SECOND 

THE   SECOND  RESTORATION 

I.     Louis  XVIIL's  Return 262 

II.    The  Return  op  the  Duchess 275 

III.  General  de  LAB^DOviiRE 281 

IV.  FouciiE 296 

V.     Marshal  Ney 310 

VI.    The  Death  of  Marshal  Ney 325 

VII.     Count  de  Lavalette 338 

VIIL     Madame  de  Lavalette 352 

IX.    The  Beginning  of  1816 372 

X.    The  Ashes  of  Louis  XVII 384 

Conclusion 392 


THE   DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME  AND 
THE  TWO    RESTORATIONS 

PART  FIRST 

THE    FIRST    RESTORATION 

I 

CALAIS 

FROM  the  return  of  Louis  XVIII.  to  France 
until  the  arrival  of  the  Duchess  of  Berry,  the 
Duchess  of  Angouleme  is  the  only  woman  who  can 
be  described  as  a  woman  of  the  Tuileries.  It  is  she 
who  attracts  all  eyes ;  she  who  represents  the  legend 
of  the  Temple  ;  she  who  may  be  called  the  living 
poetry  of  the  Restoration.  As  soon  as  the  Duchess 
of  Berry  touches  French  soil,  people  turn  more 
especially  toward  the  young  Neapolitan  Princess. 
But  from  1814  to  1816,  the  most  important  position 
at  court  belonged  to  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI. 
We  shall  try  to  show  her  as  she  really  was  during 
these  two  years,  and,  in  reviving  her  image,  to 
animate  also  the  scenes  in  which  she  lived,  and  the 
principal  events  in  which  she  took  a  part. 

1 


THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 


This  history  begins  at  Calais  on  the  24th  of  April, 
1814,  at  the  moment  when  the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme 
had  just  landed  with  Louis  XVIII.,  the  Prince  of 
Cond^,  and  the  Duke  of  Bourbon.  Between  France 
and  royalty  a  sort  of  "  Lamourette  kiss "  had  been 
exchanged.  Credulous  persons  fancied  that  the  iron 
age  had  gone,  never  to  return ;  that  the  golden  age 
had  come,  and  would  be  eternal.  The  sky  is  blue. 
A  superb  spring  day  makes  all  things  radiant.  Not 
a  breath  of  air  ruffles  the  glassy  surface  of  the  sea. 
No  one  thinks  about  present  disasters,  the  mourning 
country,  or  the  strangers  who  tread  its  sacred  soil. 
To  enthusiastic  royalists,  the  Republic  and  the  Em- 
pire are  only  an  evil  dream  that  vanishes  at  dawn. 
EmigrSs  and  purchasers  of  national  property  experi- 
ence the  same  exaltation.  No  one  suspects  the  pro- 
found hatred  which,  at  the  end  of  three  months,  will 
divide  minds  that  now  seem  to  be  in  perfect  accord. 
It  is  a  sort  of  truce  of  God  in  the  midst  of  social 
and  political  success.  It  is  the  eclogue,  the  idyl 
which  precedes  the  tragedy. 

When,  to  the  sound  of  bells  and  salvos  of  artillery, 
Louis  XVIII.  disembarks  from  the  English  ship,  the 
Royal  Sovereign,  and  is  seen  leaning  on  the  arm  of 
the  orphan  of  the  Temple,  as  once  before  on  the 
frozen  plains  of  Lithuania,  unanimous  cheers  break 
out,  and  there  are  tears  in  every  eye.  Sixteen  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Calais,  elegantly  dressed,  come  forward 
to  draw  the  royal  carriage  with  their  own  hands. 
The  clergy  appear  led  by  a  cur^  who  had  long  been 


CALAIS  3 

expatriated  for  having  refused  the  constitutional  oath. 
"  Curd,"  says  the  King,  "  after  more  than  twenty 
years  of  absence,  Heaven  gives  my  children  back  to 
me.  Heaven  gives  me  back  to  my  children;  come, 
let  us  thank  God  in  His  temple."  The  procession 
advances  between  a  double  row  of  national  guards 
and  troops  of  the  line,  and  goes  up  the  quays.  All 
the  vessels  have  their  flags  out,  all  the  streets  are 
sanded  and  strown  with  foliage,  all  the  houses 
tapestried  with  verdure,  and  adorned  with  white  ban- 
ners, all  the  women  wear  white  frocks,  wave  their 
handkerchiefs,  and  scatter  flowers.  On  reaching  the 
church,  the  King,  who  walks  under  a  canopy,  seats 
himself  in  the  centre  of  the  choir.  The  Te  Deum  is 
intoned.  The  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  unites  her 
voice  in  the  canticle  of  thanksgiving ;  she  is  astonished 
that  tears  of  joy  can  flow  from  her  eyes.  But  she 
has  seen  her  country  once  more  ! 

After  leaving  the  church,  Louis  XVHI.  receives 
the  civil  and  military  authorities.  He  says  to  the 
mayor  :  "  The  people  of  Calais  have  never,  since  the 
time  of  Philip  of  Valois,  ceased  to  give  proofs  of  love 
and  fidelity  to  their  sovereigns ;  I  count  on  their 
attachment,  as  they  may  count  on  my  protection." 
To  the  Christian  Brothers  he  says :  "  Make  good 
Christians,  and  you  will  have  made  good  Frenchmen." 
The  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  listens  to  this  speech 
gladly,  for  it  is  her  whole  political  programme.  The 
inhabitants  of  Calais  decide  that  on  the  very  spot 
where  the  King  descended  from  his  ship,  they  will 


THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 


place  a  bronze  plaque,  on  which  shall  be  traced  the 
imprint  of  his  royal  foot.  Beside  it  they  will  raise  a 
monument  bearing  the  date,  the  24th  of  April,  1814, 
made  memorable  in  the  annals  of  Calais  by  the 
arrival  of  the  brother  and  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI. 

The  sight  of  the  orphan  of  the  Temple  inspires 
general  emotion  of  compeission.  The  words  of  Cha- 
teaubriand, published  on  the  30th  of  March,  in 
his  pamphlet,  Buonaparte  et  les  Bourbons,  were 
recalled :  "  This  young  princess  whom  we  have  per- 
secuted, whom  we  have  made  an  orphan,  longs  every 
day,  in  foreign  palaces,  for  the  prisons  of  France. 
She  might  have  received  the  hand  of  a  powerful 
and  glorious  prince,  but  she  preferred  to  unite  her 
destiny  with  that  of  her  cousin,  a  poor  exile,  pro- 
scribed because  he  was  French,  being  unwilling  to 
separate  herself  from  the  misfortunes  of  her  family. 
All  the  world  admires  her  virtues ;  people  from  all 
parts  of  Europe  follow  her  whenever  she  appears  in 
public,  and  crown  her  with  blessings ;  we  alone  can  for- 
get her  I  When  she  left  the  country  where  she  had 
been  so  unhappy,  she  turned  back  to  look  at  it,  and 
wept.  The  constant  object  of  her  love  and  her 
prayers,  we  hardly  know  that  she  exists.  Ah !  may 
she  at  least  find  some  consolation  in  promoting  the 
welfare  of  her  guilty  country!  This  land  bears  lilies 
spontaneously ;  they  will  grow  again  more  beautiful 
than  ever,  since  they  have  been  sprinkled  with  the 
blood  of  the  Martyr-King." 

Such  is  the  theme  repeated  even  to  satiety  at  the 


CALAIS  5 

beginning  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII.  Accompa- 
nied by  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  the  Prince 
of  Cond^,  and  the  Duke  of  Bourbon,  Louis  XVIII. 
leaves  Calais  on  the  26th  of  April,  and  passes  that 
night  at  Boulogne-sur-Mer.  There  he  finds  Marshal 
Moncey,  Duke  of  Conegliano,  that  valiant  warrior 
who,  less  than  a  month  before,  on  the  30th  of 
March,  had  defended  the  barrier  of  Clichy  against 
the  foreigners,  and  who  now  comes  to  meet  and 
congratulate  the  head  of  the  House  of  Bourbon. 
The  King  effusively  embraces  the  marshal  who  had 
heroically  defended  Paris  against  the  Allies,  without 
whose  aid  royalty  could  not  have  been  re-established. 
This  is  what  is  painful  in  the  situation  of  the  Bour- 
bons. The  defeat  of  the  foreigner  would  have  been 
their  ruin ;  his  victory  has  been  their  salvation.  Had 
not  Chateaubriand,  sometimes  so  patriotic,  just  writ- 
ten: "Like  Athens,  Paris  has  seen  aliens  enter  her 
walls  who  have  respected  her,  in  remembrance  of  her 
glory  and  her  great  men.  Eighty  thousand  conquer- 
ing soldiers  have  slept  beside  our  fellow-citizens 
without  disturbing  their  slumbers,  offering  them  the 
least  violence,  or  even  singing  a  triumphant  hymn. 
These  are  liberators,  not  conquerors.  Immoiial  honor 
to  the  sovereigns  who  have  been  able  to  give  the 
world  such  an  example  of  moderation  in  victory !  How 
many  injuries  they  had  to  revenge  !  But  they  have 
not  confounded  France  with  the  tyrant  who  oppressed 
them.  Hence  they  have  already  reaped  the  fruit  of 
their  magnanimity.     They  have  been  received  by  the 


6  THE  DUVUESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

inhabitants  of  Paris  as  if  they  were  our  real  mon- 
archs,  like  French  princes,  like  the  Bourbons.  We 
shall  see  them  soon,  the  descendants  of  Henri  IV. ; 
Alexander  has  promised  it;  he  remembers  that  the 
marriage  contract  between  the  Duke  and  the  Duchess 
of  Angouleme  is  deposited  in  the  Russian  archives. 
He  has  faithfully  guarded  for  us  the  last  public  act 
of  our  legitimate  government;  he  has  brought  it 
back  to  our  own  archives,  where,  in  our  turn,  we  will 
preserve  the  account  of  his  entry  into  Paris  as  one 
of  the  greatest  and  most  glorious  moments  of  his- 
tory." 

It  must  be  confessed  that  although  such  language 
may  be  adroit,  it  is  utterly  undignified.  Chateau- 
briand himself  must  have  been  sadly  surprised,  when, 
later  on,  he  read  once  more  these  lines  which  he  had 
written:  "And  what  Frenchman  could  forget  what 
he  owes  to  the  Prince  Regent  of  England;  to  that 
noble  people  which  has  done  so  much  to  deliver  us  ? 
Elizabeth's  flags  waved  in  the  armies  of  Henri  IV. ; 
they  reappear  among  the  battalions  that  restore  Louis 
XVIII.  to  us.  We  are  too  sensitive  to  glory  not  to 
admire  Lord  Wellington,  who  has  reproduced  in  such 
a  striking  manner  the  virtues  and  talents  of  our 
Turenne.  Are  we  not  moved  to  tears  when,  at  the 
time  of  our  retreat  from  Portugal,  we  see  him  prom- 
ising two  guineas  for  every  French  prisoner  brought 
to  him  alive  ?  By  his  moral  strength,  still  more  than 
by  military  discipline,  he  has  miraculously  suspended, 
on  entering  our  provinces,  both  the  resentment  of 


CALAIS  7 

the  Portuguese  and  the  vengeance  of  the  Spaniards; 
in  a  word,  it  was  under  his  standard  that  the  first  cry 
of  '  Long  live  the  King ! '  awakened  our  unhappy- 
country." 

Such  apologies  are  distressing.  But  at  that  period 
men  were  so  weary  of  the  despotism  and  wars  of 
Napoleon,  that  many  said,  like  the  author  of  Buona- 
parte et  les  Bourbons:  "Reflect  that  all  the  woes  we 
experience,  the  loss  of  our  property  and  our  armies, 
the  miseries  of  invasion,  the  massacre  of  our  children, 
the  trouble  and  tearing  asunder  of  all  France,  and  the 
loss  of  our  liberties,  are  the  work  of  a  single  man,  and 
that  we  shall  owe  the  contrary  benefits  to  a  single 
man.  Let  us  hear  then,  from  all  sides,  the  cry  which 
can  save  us ;  the  cry  our  fathers  raised  in  defeat  as 
well  as  in  victory,  and  which,  for  us,  will  be  the  sig- 
nal of  peace  and  happiness :  Long  live  the  King ! " 
This  cry  was  everywhere  heard  along  the  route  of 
Louis  XVIIL,  on  the  26th  of  April,  at  Boulogne-sur- 
Mer ;  on  the  27th  at  Abbeville,  and  on  the  28th  at 
Amiens.  On  entering  the  cathedral  of  the  chief 
town  of  Picardy,  the  sovereign  exclaimed,  as  he 
looked  with  emotion  at  the  immense  multitude  that 
cheered  him :  "  What  a  magnificent  day  !  "  During 
the  banquet,  several  young  girls,  dressed  in  white, 
sang  before  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  Gluck's  fine 
chorus,  which  had  been  sung  so  often  in  honor  of 
the  Queen,  her  mother.  The  next  day,  the  29th  of 
April,  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoi- 
nette arrived  with  Louis  XVIIL  at  Compi^gne. 


II 


COMPIBGNE 


AT  an  interval  of  only  four  years,  from  the  27th  of 
March,  1810,  to  April  29,  1814,  the  chateau  of 
Compi^gne  presented  two  widely  different  spectacles. 
The  decorations  were  hardly  changed.  Many  of  the 
same  actors  appeared,  but  the  piece  was  altered  from 
top  to  bottom.  On  the  27th  of  March,  1810,  Napo- 
leon arrived  at  Compi^gne  with  his  young  wife,  and 
made  arrangements  there  for  the  entry  of  the  new 
Empress  into  Paris.  On  the  29th  of  April,  1814, 
Louis  XVIII.  arrived  at  Compi^gne  with  the  Duchess 
of  Angouleme,  and  made  arrangements  there  for  his 
formal  entry  into  his  capital.  The  same  marshals 
figured  both  times  in  the  first  rank  of  courtiers  ;  but 
in  1810  they  called  themselves  Maishals  of  the  Em- 
pire, and  in  1814,  Marshals  of  France.  In  1810,  the 
chief  figure  among  them  was  Marshal  Berthier, 
Prince  of  Wagram  and  Neufchatel,  who,  as  ambas- 
sador extraordinary,  had  gone  to  fetch  the  Empress 
from  Vienna.  In  1814,  it  was  the  same  Marshal 
Berthier,  Prince  of  Wagram  and  Neufchatel,  who 
was  to  felicitate  the  Most  Christian  King  in  the  name 
of  his  colleagues.  The  flatteries,  the  ceremonial,  the 
8 


COMPIEGNE 


incense,  were  the  same ;  nothing  was  changed  except 
the  idols. 

Louis  XVIII.  might  have  made  but  a  single  stage 
from  Calais  to  Paris,  but  he  would  not.  This  mon- 
arch by  divine  right  thought  that  a  king  should 
never  wait,  but  that  it  became  him  to  be  waited  for. 
Persuaded  that  his  subjects  ardently  desired  his  re- 
turn, he  took  pleasure  in  deferring  his  triumphal 
entry  into  Paris,  in  order  to  augment  the  impatience 
and  curiosity  of  the  populace.  He  travelled  by  short 
stages.  A  slow  and  majestic  progress  suited  his 
tranquil  nature. 

People  wondered  how  Napoleon's  marshals  would 
behave  towards  a  sovereign  whose  manners,  phys- 
ique, and  character  bore  so  little  resemblance  to 
those  of  their  former  master.  "  I  feared  the  effect  of 
his  appearance,"  M.  de  Chateaubriand  wrote  in  refer- 
ence to  Louis  XVIII.  "  I  hastened  to  arrive  before 
him  at  that  city  in  which  Joan  of  Arc  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  English,  and  where  a  book  was  shown  to 
me  pierced  by  a  bullet  aimed  at  Bonaparte.  What 
would  people  think  of  the  aspect  of  the  royal  invalid 
who  was  to  replace  the  bold  rider  who  might  have 
said  with  Attila :  '  Grass  never  grows  again  where 
my  horse's  hoofs  have  been '  ?  Without  mission  or 
inclination  (the  lot  had  fallen  to  me),  I  undertook  a 
sufficiently  difficult  task:  that  of  describing  the 
arrival  at  Compiegne,  and  of  representing  the  son  of 
Saint  Louis  such  as  I  had  idealized  him  by  the  aid 
of  the  Muses." 


10  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULMe 

The  marshals,  also,  were  awaiting,  and  not  without 
a  certain  anxiety,  the  moment  when  they  should  be 
confronted  with  the  new  sovereign  on  whom  their 
destinies,  titles,  places  at  court,  and  military  com- 
mands must  henceforward  depend.  They  met  at 
Compiegne  and  decided  that  two  of  their  number, 
Ney  and  Marmont,  should  go  to  meet  and  congratu- 
late the  King  and  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme.  The 
twp  mai-shals  met  the  sovereign  and  his  niece  on  the 
hither  side  of  the  last  station.  The  royal  carriage 
stopped.  The  two  marshals  alighted.  Ney,  who 
was  to  be  shot  the  following  year,  being  the  eldest, 
was  spokesman.  "  The  King  replied  in  a  gracious 
and  benevolent  manner,"  says  Marmont  in  his  Me- 
moirs, "but  he  closed  his  remarks  with  a  phrase 
which,  to  me,  seemed  sill3^  Naturally  he  talked 
about  his  ancestor,  Henri  IV.  It  was  the  time  to 
do  so,  doubtless,  but  this  is  what  he  said,  in  pointing 
to  his  hat,  in  which  there  was  a  small,  white  heron 
feather:  'Behold  the  plume  of  Henri  IV.!  It  shall 
always  be  in  my  hat.'  I  wondered  what  sense  there 
was  in  these  words,  and  whether  any  relic  of  the  sort 
had  been  preserved  by  the  royal  family." 

In  other  respects,  the  impression  Louis  XVIII.  pro- 
duced upon  the  Duke  of  Ragusa  was  favorable : 
"  The  sentiments  of  my  childhood  and  early  youth," 
he  adds,  "rekindled  in  full  force  and  powerfully 
addressed  my  imagination.  A  sort  of  prestige  accom- 
panied his  illustrious  race.  From  the  most  remote 
antiquity   the   origin  of  its  grandeur  has  been  un- 


COMPIEGNE  11 


known.  From  generation  to  generation,  the  trans- 
mission of  its  blood  marks  the  epochs  of  our  history, 
and  serves  to  make  them  recognized.  Its  name  is 
linked  with  all  that  is  great  in  onr  country.  His 
descent  from  a  saint,  who,  six  hundred  years  ago,  was 
a  man  of  superior  intelligence  and  a  great  king,  gave 
him  a  special  halo.  All  these  considerations  acted 
powerfully  on  my  mind."  Comparing  his  two  mas- 
ters with  each  other,  the  marshal  goes  on  to  say :  "  I 
had  lived  on  an  intimate  footing  with  a  mighty  sov- 
ereign ;  but  his  elevation  was  our  own  work.  I  enter- 
tained toward  him  the  feelings  naturally  begotten 
by  our  former  relations  and  the  admiration  his  great 
qualities  awakened ;  but  that  chieftain  was  a  man  like 
myself  before  he  became  my  superior ;  while  he  who 
now  appeared  before  me  seemed  a  part  of  time  and 
fate." 

Meantime  the  Avhole  town  of  Compiegne  was 
impatiently  awaiting  the  King,  whose  approach  was 
hourly  announced  by  successive  couriers.  Suddenly 
the  drums  beat  the  general  alarm.  A  carriage  drawn 
by  six  horses  entered  the  courtyard  of  the  palace, 
and  drew  up  before  the  door;  it  was  not  yet  the  King, 
but  the  Prince  of  Condd  and  his  son,  the  Duke  of 
Bourbon,  father  of  the  unfortunate  Duke  of  Enghien, 
who  preceded  the  monarch.  A  few  minutes  after- 
ward, Louis  XVIII.  and  his  niece  arrived.  Read 
the  lyrical  account  published  in  the  Journal  des 
DSbats  by  Chateaubriand :  "  When  the  King  alighted 
from  his  carriage,  assisted  by  the  Duchess  of  Angou- 


12  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

ISme,  France  seemed  to  behold  its  father  once  more. 
Neither  the  King  nor  Madame,  neither  the  marshals 
nor  the  soldiers,  could  speak.  They  could  express 
themselves  only  by  tears.  But  still  those  least  af- 
fected cried:  'Long  live  the  King!  Long  live  our 
father ! '  The  King  wore  a  blue  coat,  distinguished 
only  by  a  star  and  epaulettes ;  his  legs  were  enveloped 
in  large,  red  velvet  gaiters  bound  with  a  narrow  gilt 
ribbon.  He  walked  with  difficulty,  but  in  a  dignified 
and  affecting  manner;  his  figure  was  not  at  all  ex- 
traordinary ;  he  had  a  superb  head,  and  his  glance 
was  at  once  that  of  a  king  and  a  man  of  genius. 
When  he  sat  down  in  his  armchair,  with  his  old- 
fashioned  gaiters,  and  holding  a  cane  across  his 
knees,  one  could  imagine  himself  beholding  Louis 
XIV.  at  the  age  of  fifty." 

And  the  great  royalist  author,  working  himself  up, 
perhaps  a  trifle  in  cold  blood,  exclaims  as  if  in  a 
burst  of  enthusiasm :  "  Such  is  the  force  of  the  legiti- 
mate sovereign  in  France ;  such  the  magic  pertaining 
to  the  name  of  king.  A  man  arrives  all  alone  from 
exile,  despoiled  of  all,  without  attendants,  guards, 
or  riches ;  he  has  nothing  to  give,  and  almost  nothing 
to  promise.  He  alights  from  his  carriage,  leaning  on 
the  arm  of  a  young  woman;  he  shows  himself  to 
captains  who  have  never  seen  him,  and  to  grenadiers 
who  hardly  know  his  name.  Who  is  this  man?  It  is 
the  King !     Everybody  is  at  his  feet." 

Here  the  illustrious  writer  exaggerates.  He  will 
recognize  it  himself,  for  in   his   MSmoires  d' Outre- 


COMPIEGNE  13 


Tombe  he  will  say :  "  What  I  wrote  about  the  war- 
riors, and  with  a  special  end  in  view,  was  true  with 
regard  to  the  leaders ;  but  I  lied  about  the  soldiers." 
At  Compi^gne  Louis  XVIII.  was  no  longer  an  out- 
law. He  had  a  great  deal  to  give  and  to  promise. 
Never  had  any  prince  more  petitioners  and  courtiers. 
The  great  dignitaries  of  the  Empire  stood  in  as  much 
need  of  him  as  the  chiefs  of  the  array  of  Cond^.  He 
was  not  despoiled  of  all.  He  had  honors,  riches, 
rank,  and  decorations  to  bestow,  and  all  who  saluted 
him,  saluted  in  him  the  rising  sun. 

The  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  dressed  in  a  simple 
white  frock,  attracted  all  eyes.  Her  head  was  cov- 
ered with  a  little  English  bonnet.  Her  features 
seemed  a  happy  blending  of  those  of  her  father  and 
mother.  An  expression  of  gentle  sadness  witnessed 
to  the  sufferings  she  had  endured  with  so  much 
resignation.  Even  in  her  somewhat  foreign  costume 
evidences  of  her  long  exile  might  be  seen.  She  con- 
stantly repeated :  "  How  happy  I  am  to  be  in  the 
midst  of  the  good  French  people  !  " 

As  soon  as  Louis  XVIII.  had  entered  his  apart- 
ments. Marshal  Berthier,  in  his  own  name  and  that 
of  the  other  marshals,  addressed  him  in  a  discourse, 
which  would  not  have  been  out  of  place  in  the 
mouth  of  an  ardent  royalist.  He  interspersed  it 
with  the  white  plume  of  Henri  IV.  and  besieged 
Paris,  succored  by  its  King  :  "  Sire,"  said  he,  "  after 
twenty-five  years  of  uncertainty  and  storm,  the 
French  people  have  again  delivered  the  care  of  their 


14  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

welfare  to  that  dynasty  which  eight  centuries  of 
glory  have  consecrated  in  the  history  of  the  world 
as  the  most  ancient  in  existence.  As  soldiers  and  as 
citizens,  the  marshals  of  France  have  seconded  this 
outburst  of  the  national  will.  Absolute  confidence 
in  the  future,  admiration  for  greatness  in  misfortune, 
all,  even  to  ancient  souvenirs,  concur  to  excite  in 
our  warriors,  who  are  the  upholders  of  the  glory  of 
French  arms,  the  transports  Your  Majesty  has  wit- 
nessed on  your  journey." 

Louis  XVIII.  replied  to  Berthier's  harangue :  "  It 
pleases  me  to  meet  you,  gentlemen,  and  I  rely  upon 
the  sentiments  of  affection  and  fidelity  which  you 
express  toward  me  in  the  name  of  the  French  army. 
I  am  happy  to  find  myself  amongst  you."  Then  he 
stopped  and  said  over  again,  emphasizing  each  word: 
"Happy,  happy  and  proud."  After  saying  a  few 
kindly  words  to  each  of  the  marshals,  Macdonald, 
Ney,  Moncey,  Sdrurier,  Mortier,  Brune,  Berthier, 
Lefebvre,  Oudinot,  and  Kellermann,  he  stood  up, 
although  suffering  from  the  gout.  His  principal 
officers  approached  to  assist  him,  but,  seizing  the 
arms  of  the  two  marshals  who  were  nearest,  he 
exclaimed:  "It  is  on  you,  marshals,  that  I  always 
desire  to  lean ;  come  near  and  surround  me ;  you 
have  always  been  true  Frenchmen.  I  hope  that 
France  will  have  no  further  need  of  your  swords. 
But  if  ever  —  which  may  God  avert  —  we  are  forced 
to  draw  them,  gouty  as  I  am,  I  will  march  with  you." 
"Sire,"  replied  a  marshal,   "let  Your  Majesty  con- 


COMPIEGNE  15 


sider  us  the  pillars  of  the  throne !  We  will  be  its 
firmest  supports." 

Dinner  was  served  at  eight  o'clock.  The  King, 
the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  the  Prince  of  Cond^,  the 
Duke  of  Bourbon,  the  marshals,  the  generals,  the 
gentlemen-in-waiting  to  the  King,  the  ladies  of 
the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  Mademoiselle  de  Mont- 
boisier,  the  daughter  of  Madame  de  Malesherbes,  the 
Duchess  of  Duras,  the  Countess  of  Simiane,  and  sev- 
eral other  distinguished  personages,  invited  by  order 
of  the  King,  sat  down  at  the  same  board.  The  crowd 
of  persons  standing  in  the  dining-room  was  so  great 
that  the  servants  could  hardly  wait  on  the  table.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  repast  the  King  said  to  the 
marshals :  "  Gentlemen,  I  am  sending  you  some  ver- 
mouth ;  I  wish  to  drink  with  you  to  the  health  of  the 
French  army."  According  to  the  Moniteur,  a  senti- 
ment of  respect  prevented  the  marshals  from  propos- 
ing the  King's  health  in  return,  as  their  enthusiasm 
prompted. 

After  dinner,  the  sovereign  returned  to  the  draw- 
ing-room. Every  one  wished  to  remain  standing,  but 
Louis  XVIII.  obliged  the  marshals  and  generals  to 
seat  themselves  at  his  right  hand.  The  article  in 
the  Debats,  which  we  have  already  quoted,  says : 
"  These  brave  captains  appeared  singularly  moved  by 
this  kindness  on  the  part  of  the  sovereign.  They 
remembered  that  the  foreigner"  —  so  they  called 
Napoleon  at  this  time  — "  without  regard  to  their 
age,  their  labors,  and  their  wounds,  had  forced  them 


16  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

to  stand  for  hours  in  his  presence,  as  if  he  measured 
the  respect  of  his  servants  by  the  pains  he  made  them 
endure."  The  King  showed  polite  attentions  to  each 
of  the  great  dignitaries  of  the  army.  As  he  noticed 
that  Marshal  Lefebvre  walked  with  difficulty,  being 
tormented  with  gout  like  himself,  he  said :  "  Well, 
marshal,  are  you  one  of  ours  ?  " 

Then,  turning  to  Marshal  Mortier,  he  said:  "Mar- 
shal, when  we  were  not  friends,  you  had  an  esteem 
for  the  Queen,  my  wife,  which  she  did  not  conceal 
from  me,  and  I  recall  it  to-day."  .  .  .  Then,  ad- 
dressing Marshal  Marmont :  "  You  were  wounded  in 
Spain  and  came  near  losing  an  arm."  —  "  Yes,  Sire," 
replied  the  marshal,  "  but  I  have  found  it  again  for 
Your  Majesty's  service." 

All  these  lieutenants  of  Napoleon  were  enchanted. 
They  seemed  no  longer  to  think  of  anything  but  the 
King.  On  all  sides  one  could  hear :  "  He  shall  see 
how  we  will  serve  him  !  We  are  his  for  life."  IJ?ni- 
grSs  and  former  commanders  in  the  imperial  army 
clasped  each  other  by  the  hand  like  brothers.  No 
more  factions,  said  they,  no  more  parties !  All  for 
Louis  XVIII. ! 

The  marshals  showed  themselves  profoundly  moved 
by  the  attentions  of  the  King,  and  even  the  recep- 
tion given  them  by  his  courtiers,  the  great  person- 
ages of  the  old  regime,  touched  them  more  than  we 
could  easily  believe.  In  his  Histoire  de  la  Restaura- 
tion,  that  impartial  and  masterly  work  which  has  done 
him  so  much  honor,  Baron  Louis  de  Viel-Castel  thus 


COMPlkGNE  17 


estimates  the  attitude  of  the  Emperor's  chief  com- 
panions-in-arms :  "  Nowadays,  when  the  names  of 
these  warriors,  aggrandized  by  time,  shine  through 
the  magic  memories  of  the  Empire  with  that  bril- 
liancy which  in  reality  belongs  only  to  some  among 
them,  it  is  hard  for  us  to  conceive  that  they  should 
have  been  so  sensitive  to  the  condescension  of  cour- 
tiers whose  only  claim  to  distinction  was  derived 
from  their  ancestors ;  but  at  that  time  the  lieutenants 
of  Napoleon  did  not  yet  appeal  to  the  imagination ; 
they  did  not  consider  themselves  in  so  important  an 
aspect.  They  found  difficulty  in  believing  that  their 
fortunes  could  survive  those  of  the  great  Emperor 
who  had  made  them  what  they  were,  and  they  needed 
to  be  reassured.  In  the  days  of  their  youth,  when 
they  were  still  private  soldiers,  and  their  most  ambi- 
tious hopes  did  not  aspire  to  aught  beyond  the  epau- 
lettes of  a  sub-lieutenant,  they  remembered  having 
seen  these  elegant  and  polished  courtiers,  who  now 
treated  them  as  equals,  already  in  the  uniforms  of 
colonels  and  general  officers.  The  prestige  of  the 
past  was  not  yet  so  completely  effaced  that  such  a 
change  in  situations  could  fail  to  make  a  marked 
impression  on  them,  and  these  men  who  had  uncon- 
cernedly commanded  armies,  gained  battles,  and  con- 
quered and  governed  provinces,  were  surprised  and 
intoxicated  by  the  advances  made  by  these  great 
lords.  Their  pride  was  not  of  a  sufficiently  lofty 
nature  to  preserve  them  from  the  trivialities  of 
vanity." 


18       THE  DUCUESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

The  court  was  reconstituted  at  Compiegne.  The 
Count  of  Artois  and  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Berry,  who 
had  left  Louis  XVIII.  several  weeks  before,  came 
there  to  offer  him  their  homage.  On  the  13th  of 
April,  the  King  went  to  Mass  in  the  palace  chapel, 
passing  through  the  hall  of  the  Guards.  He  was 
followed  bj-^  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  dressed  very 
simply  in  a  white  silk  robe,  her  head  covered  with  a 
wreath  of  flowers  and  a  lace  veil.  When  the  King 
left  the  chapel,  the  market-women  presented  him  with 
a  bouquet  and  a  wreath  of  lilies  and  orange  flowers. 
Afterwards,  the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme,  accompanied 
by  the  Count  of  Artois  ^  nd  the  Duke  of  Berry,  went 
out  to  walk  in  the  park  without  other  attendants. 
Possibly  she  would  have  preferred  ignorant  bour- 
geois and  poor  peasants  to  great  dignitaries  of  the 
Empire,  whose  conversion  to  the  royalist  faith  seemed 
to  her  a  trifle  sudden,  and  more  especially  a  trifle 
selfish. 

Among  the  personages  who  repaired  to  Compiegne 
to  pay  their  court  to  the  King,  was  Bernadotte,  that 
former  marshal  of  the  Empire  who  had  become  Prince- 
Royal  of  Sweden,  and,  for  an  instant,  had  aspired  to 
the  crown  of  France.  As  the  Count  of  Artois  was 
conversing  with  him  concerning  the  difficulties  of 
home  politics,  he  said:  " Monseigneur,  to  govern  the 
French,  you  need  an  iron  hand  in  a  velvet  glove." 

The  arrival  of  Prince  Tallej'rand  created  some 
sensation.  "  People  were  curious,"  says  Baron  de 
VitroUes  in  his  Memoirs,  "  to  see  how  he  would  pre- 


COMPli^GNE  19 


sent  himself  and  how  he  would  be  received.  They  ex- 
pected to  see  him  complaisant,  adroit,  flattering,  and 
caressing ;  but  he  chose  quite  another  r61e.  He  was 
cold  and  serious,  and  made  advances  to  nobody,  act- 
ing like  a  man  who  had  nothing  to  accuse  himself  of 
and  who  stood  in  no  need  of  support.  .  .  .  This  r61e 
of  independence  was  carried  so  far  that  instead  of 
going  to  meet  his  uncle,  Cardinal  de  P^rigord,  grand- 
almoner  of  France,  returning  in  the  suite  and  favor 
of  the  King,  M.  de  Talleyrand  waited  for  the  august 
old  man,  who,  in  his  haste  to  absolve  him,  took  the 
first  steps  toward  this  nephew,  so  insolent  in  his 
cleverness." 

The  pious  Duchess  of  Angouleme  could  not  have 
found  the  presence  at  Compiegne  of  the  former  vice- 
grand-elector  of  the  Empire  very  agreeable.  This 
unfrocked  priest,  this  ex-bishop  of  Autun,  who  at 
the  time  of  the  fete  of  the  Federation,  on  the  14th  of 
July,  1790,  had  said  a  Mass  on  the  Champ-de-Mars 
which  boded  ill  to  royalty ;  this  great  revolutionist 
lord,  this  apologist  of  the  18th  Fructidor,  could  but 
awaken  painful  thoughts  in  the  daughter  of  Louis 
XVI.  And  under  what  aspect  could  he  be  regarded 
by  the  Prince  of  Cond^  and  the  Duke  of  Bourbon, 
the  grandfather  and  the  father  of  the  unhappy  Duke 
of  Enghien  ;  he  who  was  the  First  Consul's  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  when  the  young  prince  was  mur- 
dered ;  he  who  had  given  a  ball  three  days  after  the 
outrage  at  Vincennes  ? 

M.  de  Talleyrand  was  received  with  extreme  polite- 


20  THE  DUCHESS  OF  JiNGOULhME 

ness  by  Louis  XVIII.,  but  without  much  cordiality. 
He  was  obliged  to  wait  two  or  three  hours  before  be- 
ing admitted  to  the  King's  presence;  and  even  then 
was  forced  to  seek  the  intervention  of  M.  de  Blacas. 
The  sovereign  reminded  him,  not  without  a  spice  of 
malice,  of  the  divergence  of  views  which  had  arisen 
between  them  since  the  Revolution  began,  and  then 
added,  after  saying  that  his  own  foresight  had  been 
justified  by  events :  "  If  you  had  proved  in  the  right, 
you  would  say  to  me :  '  Let  us  sit  down  and  have  a 
talk.'  As  it  is  I  who  have  triumphed,  I  say  to  you : 
*  Sit  down,  and  let  us  talk.'  " 

On  the  1st  of  May,  the  Emperor  Alexander,  that  au- 
tocrat who  had  made  himself  the  champion  of  liberal- 
ism at  Paris,  came  to  Compi^gne  to  recommend  the 
Constitution  elaborated  by  the  Senate.  "  Contrary  to 
all  that  has  been  invented  by  the  historians  of  that 
epoch,"  says  Baron  de  Vitrolles,  "  the  interview  be- 
tween the  two  sovereigns  was  nothing  but  graces  and 
compliments.  Now,  in  that  line,  Louis  XVIII.  cer- 
tainly had  the  advantage.  The  Emperor  of  Russia 
had  too  high  a  sense  of  the  proprieties  to  seem  to 
wish  to  give  lessons  to  the  old  King,  while  the  latter's 
mind  was  too  pliant  and  his  character  too  easy  to  per- 
mit him  to  put  himself  in  opposition  to  the  Czar.  I 
don't  know  whether  the  Emperor  Alexander  placed 
much  confidence  in  this  easy  way  of  looking  at  things, 
a  way  which  entailed  no  positive  consequences ;  but 
for  the  moment  it  was  all  that  the  most  skilful  poli- 
tician could  have  advised." 


COMPli^GNE  21 


Thoroughly  satisfied  with  his  stay  in  Compiegne, 
Louis  XVIII.  left  there  on  the  2d  of  May,  and  halted 
for  one  day  at  Saint-Ouen,  his  last  resting-place  before 
entering  Paris. 


Ill 

SAINT-OUEN 

LOUIS  XVIII.,  accompanied  by  the  Duchess  of 
AngoulSme,  arrived  on  the  morning  of  May  2d, 
at  Saint-Ouen,  a  village  on  the  Seine,  between  Saint- 
Denis  and  Paris.  He  lodged  there  in  the  little  chateau 
which  he  was  to  present,  some  years  later,  to  his 
favorite,  the  Countess  of  Cayla.  The  nearer  he  ap- 
proached his  capital,  the  more  did  the  multitude  of 
his  courtiers  increase.  He  alone  made  no  haste  while 
all  the  world  was  in  commotion  around  him.  He 
wanted  to  appear  as  tranquil  as  Napoleon  had  been 
unquiet.  It  was  not  until  half-past  seven  in  the 
evening  that  he  admitted  the  ministers  to  his  pres- 
ence in  a  dimly  lighted  hall.  "It  seemed,"  says 
Count  Beugnot,  "  as  if  they  wanted  to  accustom  us 
very  gradually  to  the  spectacle  of  a  king  lying  in  his 
armchair,  —  us,  who  were  coming  away  from  him  who 
passed  over  Europe  with  the  stride  of  a  giant.  But 
already,  even  from  his  armchair,  the  King  made  him- 
self felt  by  each  of  us ;  a  calm  dignity,  a  caressing 
glance,  a  flattering  voice,  questions  put  most  apropos, 
revealed  to  us  a  sort  of  power  whose  importance  we 
had  never  yet  felt." 


SAINT-OUEN  23 


Baron  de  Vitrolles  has  thus  described  this  audi- 
ence :  "  We  found  the  King  sitting  in  the  middle 
of  the  salon ;  his  attitude  and  person  conveyed  the 
impression  of  his  supreme  rank ;  his  head  still  pre- 
served a  youthful  appearance,  and  his  fat  cheeks 
diminished  somewhat  the  prominence  of  his  aquiline 
nose ;  his  large  forehead  sloped  back  a  little  too 
much  ;  he  had  a  quick  and  penetrating  glance  which 
seemed  to  light  up  his  face ;  his  hair  was  dressed 
in  the  fashion  of  his  youth  —  cut  short  and  combed 
up  over  his  forehead  into  a  sort  of  brush,  and  pow- 
dered and  tied  behind  in  a  cue  with  a  ribbon.  He 
wore  a  perfectly  simple  blue  coat,  with  gold  buttons 
engraved  with  lilies,  and  no  distinctions  save  epau- 
lettes embroidered  with  a  crown ;  he  wore  the  blue 
ribbon  on  his  waistcoat,  and  at  his  buttonhole  the 
cross  of  Saint  Lazarus,  which  was  called  the  Order 
of  Monsieur,  because  he  himself  had  revived  the 
institution  when  he  bore  the  title  of  Monsieur.  .  .  . 
One  would  have  had  to  see  the  King  in  order  to 
get  any  idea  of  the  dignity  which  he  was  able  to 
impart  to  such  an  ungainly  body  and  so  awkward  a 
gait.  Madame  (the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme)  stood 
up,  hardly  distinguishable,  if  one  may  say  so,  from 
the  persons  in  waiting  on  the  King." 

The  Senate,  which  had  essayed  at  first  to  take  a 
high  tone  with  the  sovereign  and  dictate  conditions  to 
him,  had  become  pliant  very  promptly.  On  the  even- 
ing of  the  2d  of  May,  they  came  to  Saint-Ouen,  headed 
by  M.  de  Talleyrand,  who  mentioned  the  charter  in 


24  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

his  address.  Deputations  from  the  constituent  bodies 
came  next,  and  spoke  neither  of  the  Constitution  nor 
of  liberty.  It  was  a  real  storm  of  adulations,  a 
rivalry  of  dithyrambs.  The  first  president  of  the 
Court  of  Cassation  celebrated  "  the  sublime  and  rapid 
movement "  which,  by  re-establishing  the  King  on 
his  throne,  had  "effaced  twenty-tive  years  of  error 
and  ruin,  and  terminated  the  evils  of  a  too  dis- 
astrous revolution." 

Meanwhile,  only  a  few  hours  remained  in  which 
to  elaborate  the  Royal  Declaration  which  must  be 
published  before  Louis  XVIII.  entered  Paris,  and 
which  was  awaited  by  the  public,  not  merely  as  the 
programme  of  the  new  reign,  but  as  a  guarantee  of 
liberty.  The  King  contented  himself  with  sketch- 
ing the  chief  outlines  of  this  Declaration,  which 
was  destined  to  become  celebrated  under  the  name 
of  the  Declaration  of  Saint-Ouen,  but  he  did  not  take 
the  trouble  to  write  it  out.  He  left  that  care  to 
three  of  his  advisers,  MM.  de  Blacas,  de  Vitrolles, 
and  de  La  Maisonfort,  and  went  quietly  to  sleep 
until  they  should  have  accomplished  it.  When  the 
three  editors  had  succeeded  in  coming  to  an  agree- 
ment, M.  de  Blacas,  in  spite  of  the  entreaties  of  M. 
de  Vitrolles,  refused  to  waken  the  King,  knowing 
so  well  the  value  he  set  on  his  repose.  In  the  same 
way,  later  on,  they  hesitated  to  arouse  him  on  the 
fatal  night  when  his  nephew,  the  Duke  of  Berry,  was 
assassinated.  The  liberal  Declaration  of  Saint-Ouen, 
that  prelude  to  the  charter,  was  taken  to  Paris  at 


SAINT-OUEN  25 


two  in  the  morning,  without  even  being  submitted 
to  Louis  XVIII.;  it  appeared  in  the  Moniteur  at 
seven  o'clock,  and  was  shortly  afterwards  placarded 
on  the  walls  of  the  capital,  and  produced  a  good 
impression. 

The  preparations  for  the  formal  entry  had  been 
very  skilfully  arranged.  Everything  had  been  so 
managed  that  the  ceremony  should  present  that 
dramatic  aspect  which  is  so  agreeable  to  Parisians. 
The  season  was  favorable,  and  the  weather  superb. 
Royalty  was  about  to  renew  itself  together  with 
the  spring.  Count  Beugnot,  who  at  the  time  of  the 
entry  of  the  Count  of  Artois,  had  invented  the 
famous  phrase  attributed  to  the  Prince :  "  There  is 
simply  one  more  Frenchman,"  had  just  found  an 
excellent  inscription  for  the  base  of  the  plaster 
statue  of  Henri  IV.,  placed  provisionally  on  the 
Pont  Neuf  while  awaiting  the  bronze  which  was 
to  succeed  it.  He  had  chosen  these  four  Latin 
words  :  "  Ludovico  reduce,  Henrieus  redivivus,  Louis 
having  returned,  Henry  comes  to  life  again."  In 
his  Memoirs  he  says :  "  I  had  conceived  and  exe- 
cuted tolerably  well  the  scheme  of  replacing  the 
statue  of  Henri  IV.,  a  plaster  one  at  least,  on  the 
platform  of  the  Pont  Neuf.  There  was  nothing  left 
in  Paris  from  which  a  horse  could  be  cast,  and  I 
was  obliged  to  send  in  haste  for  the  horses  of  that 
wretched  chariot  which  we  had  carried  off  from 
Berlin  in  1806,  and  which  returned  there  in  1815, 
in  both  cases  by  the  right,  not  to  be  gainsaid,  of  the 


26  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

strongest.     At  last  the  horse  and  the   statue   reap- 
peared as  if  by  enchantment." 

M.  Beugnot  next  considered  the  inscription:  "I 
puzzled  my  brains  all  the  morning,"  he  adds ;  "  I 
made  twenty  different  versions  on  the  paper  ;  but  no 
sooner  had  I  re-read  what  I  had  written  than  I  can- 
celled it  as  too  long,  or  too  short,  or  as  unintelligible 
or  stupid.  Finally,  by  dint  of  essaying  French  ver- 
sions, I  was  delivered  of  the  Latin  word  resurrexit. 
It  was  good,  but  it  was  trite.  I  remembered  that  it 
had  been  placed  on  the  pedestal  of  Henri  IV.'s  statue 
when  a  prince,  a  hundred  times  worthier  than  he, 
Louis  XVL,  had  come  to  the  throne,  and  that  it 
remained  there  until  a  joker  took  a  notion  to  write 
underneath  it :  — 

"  D^ Henri  ressusckd  fapprouve  le  hon  mot, 
Mais,  pour  me  le  prouver,  ilfaut  la  poule  au  pot.^ 

"I  could  think  no  more  about  my  resurrexit  and, 
moreover,  the  same  quiz,  had  he  still  been  alive, 
would  have  returned  to  demand  his  chicken,  and  the 
Cossacks  had  arranged  all  that." 

In  his  perplexity,  Count  Beugnot  bethought  him- 
self of  consulting  the  class  of  inscriptions  and 
belles-lettres  at  the  Institute.  They  sent  him  four, 
which  were  not  devoid  of  merit,  but  which  failed  to 
satisfy  him  completely.  "  At  last,"  he  adds,  "  I  gave 
a  final  glance  at  the  sheet,  covered  with  my  attempts 

1 1  approve  the  witticism  about  Henry's  resuscitation,  but,  to 
make  me  believe  %  a  chicken  in  my  dinner-pot  would  be  necessary. 


SAINT-OUEN  27 


and  erasures,  and  made  out  this  version :  '  The  return 
of  one  causes  the  other  to  revive.'  ^  It  lacked  dignity 
in  its  wording,  and  the  construction  was  too  common- 
place ;  and  yet,  as  the  idea  I  wanted  was  there,  I 
attempted  to  Latinize  it  in  these  words:  Ludovico 
reduce,  Henricus  redivivus.  I  was  struck  at  once  with 
the  felicity  of  my  version,  and  awarded  myself  the 
prize  without  further  ceremony." 

Every  detail  of  the  formal  entry  was  arranged 
beforehand.  Baron  de  Vitrolles  remarks  that  the 
white  apple-wood  cane  of  the  grand-master  of  cere- 
monies presided  over  everything ;  for  the  Marquis  of 
Dreux-Brez^  had  resumed  his  functions  by  the  same 
right  that  the  King  had  to  his  throne.  Feeling  all 
his  official  importance,  he  came  to  interview  the 
baron  concerning  the  ancient  and  solemn  custom 
observed  at  the  entry  of  kings,  of  having  heralds-at- 
arms  scatter  small  gold  and  silver  coins,  stamped 
with  the  sovereign's  effigy,  among  the  people.  "I 
made  haste,"  adds  M.  de  Vitrolles,  "  to  have  forty  or 
fifty  thousand  of  these  pieces  struck  off  at  the 
mint,  some  of  them  in  gold,  but  the  majority  in  silver, 
and  they  were  scattered  in  front  of  His  Majesty's 
carriage.  The  people  showed  alacrity  in  picking 
them  up,  but  not  the  sort  of  eagerness  that  leads  to 
disorder.  When  I  went  to  Saint-Ouen  to  take  my 
place  in  the  procession,  I  took  with  me  some  hand- 
fuls  of  these  gold  pieces  and  gave  them  to  the  King 

^  "Ze  retour  de  Vunfait  revivre  V autre." 


28  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

and  the  Princes.  The  Duchess  of  Angouleme  ap- 
proached and  took  out  of  my  hand  some  of  these 
medals  which  I  could  have  desired  to  present  in  a 
more  respectful  manner ;  and  she  was  so  gracious  as 
to  seize  this  occasion  to  say  some  words  expressive  of 
that  favor  and  kindness  of  which  I  have  experienced 
such  affecting  evidence." 

It  was  not  the  men  of  Coblentz  who  displayed  the 
greatest  eagerness  to  decorate  their  houses  with  white 
flags.  The  persons  who  showed  most  zeal  were  those 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  live  at  the  expense  of 
the  budget.  They  all  wished  a  share  of  the  booty, 
under  the  Bourbons,  as  they  had  done  under  the 
Empire.  Let  us  hear  M.  de  Chateaubriand:  "A 
filthy  rope,"  says  he,  "  was  put  around  the  neck  of 
the  statue  on  the  column  in  the  Place  Vend6me ; 
there  were  very  few  royalists  to  hoot  at  glory  and  to 
haul  at  the  rope;  it  was  the  authorities,  all  Bona- 
partists,  who  cast  down  the  image  of  their  master 
with  the  aid  of  a  gallows-bitt.  The  mighty  image 
had  to  bow  its  head;  it  fell  at  the  feet  of  those 
sovereigns  of  Europe  who  so  often  had  prostrated 
themselves  before  it."  And  the  author  of  MSmoires 
(T Outre-Tombe  exclaims:  "Imperialists  and  liberals, 
it  is  by  your  hands  that  power  fell ;  it  is  you  who 
bent  the  knee  to  the  progeny  of  Henri  IV.  It  was 
wholly  natural  that  royalists  should  rejoice  at  recov- 
ering their  princes  and  ending  the  reign  of  him  whom 
they  deemed  a  usurper ;  but  you,  who  owe  your  all 
to  that  usurper,  you  would  outdo  the  sentiments  of 


SAINT-OUEN  29 


the  royalists.  .  .  .  Who  was  it  that  drew  up  those 
proclamations,  those  accusatory  and  outrageous  ad- 
dresses with  which  France  was  flooded  ?  Was  it  the 
royalists?  No;  it  was  the  ministers,  the  generals, 
the  authorities  chosen  and  maintained  by  Bonaparte. 
Where  was  the  Restoration  plotted?  At  the  houses 
of  royalists  ?  No ;  at  the  house  of  M.  de  Talleyrand. 
With  whom?  With  M.  de  Pradt,  almoner  of  the 
Dleu  Mars  and  mitred  mountebank.  .  .  .  Where 
were  fetes  given  to  the  infdmes  princes  Strangers? 
At  the  chateaux  of  royalists  ?  No ;  at  Malmaison,  at 
the  home  of  the  Empress  Josephine." 

Is  it  not  strange  to  find  the  author  of  the  brochure, 
Buonaparte  et  les  Bourbons,  writing  these  ironical 
phrases :  "  Madame  de  Talleyrand,  whom  Bonaparte 
had  pasted  on  her  husband  like  a  placard,  rushed 
through  the  streets  in  an  open  carriage,  singing 
hymns  about  the  pious  family  of  the  Bourbons.  Some 
sheets  that  fluttered  from  the  windows  of  the  do- 
mestics of  the  imperial  court  caused  the  innocent 
Cossacks  to  think  that  there  were  as  many  lilies 
in  the  hearts  of  the  Bonapartists  as  there  were  white 
rags  at  their  casements.  It  is  wonderful  how  conta- 
gion spreads  in  France,  and  so  when  people  heard 
their  neighbors  bawl, '  Off  goes  my  head,'  they  bawled 
it  likewise.  The  imperialists  even  entered  the 
houses  of  us  Bourbonists,  and  forced  us  to  hang  out, 
in  the  fashion  of  spotless  flags,  whatever  white  arti- 
cles were  locked  up  in  our  linen  rooms.  This  hap- 
pened at  my  house,  but  Madame  de  Chateaubriand 


80  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULilME 

would    not    hear  of    such  a   thing,   and    valiantly 
defended  her  muslin." 

And  now  let  us  recount  the  triumphal  entry  of 
Louis  XVIII.  into  his  capital. 


IV 

THE    ENTRY    INTO    PARIS 

SINCE  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  May  the  whole 
population  of  Paris  has  been  astir.  Everywhere 
the  drum  is  summoning  the  National  Guard  to  arms. 
Around  white  standards  ornamented  with  blue  tassels 
of  the  fleur-de-lis  gather  the  legions  which  shall  soon 
form  in  lines  between  which  the  King  will  pass.  Red 
has  been  excluded,  as  it  is  the  color  of  blood.  In  his 
writing  entitled  Be  V Esprit  de  Conquete  et  d''  Usurpa- 
tion^ Benjamin  Constant  thus  cursed  the  tricolor: 
"  Do  not,"  he  said,  "  indecently  forsake  the  oriflamme 
of  your  fathers  for  a  banner  bloody  with  crimes  and 
stripped  of  every  success."  The  plain  of  Saint-Ouen, 
the  hills  of  Montmartre,  the  avenues  of  Paris,  the 
banks  of  the  Seine,  are  covered  with  an  innumerable 
multitude.  No  clouds  are  in  the  sky.  The  sun  is 
resplendent.  Windows  and  roofs  are  lined  with 
spectators.     White  flags  are  on  all  the  houses. 

The  royal  procession  has  just  left  Saint-Ouen. 
Salvos  of  artillery  resound  on  the  air.  A  detach- 
ment of  mounted  national  guards  and  another  of  cav- 
alry of  the  line  head  the  procession.  Behind  them 
come  in  the  same  carriage  Cardinal  Talleyrand-Pdri- 

31 


82  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

gord,  Grand  Almoner  of  France ;  the  Duke  of  Duras, 
First  Gentleman  of  the  King's  Bedchamber;  the 
Count  of  Blacas,  Grand  Master  of  the  Wardrobe,  and 
the  Marquis  of  Dreux-Brdz^,  Grand  Master  of  Cere- 
monies. Marshal  Berthier,  Prince  of  Wagram  and 
Neufehatel,  rides  on  horseback  before  the  King's  car- 
riage, accompanied  by  a  number  of  general  officei's. 
The  royal  coach,  drawn  by  eight  horses  taken  from 
the  Emperor's  stables  and  led  by  grooms  who  wear 
his  green  livery,  advances  with  majestic  slowness. 
The  future  Charles  X.,  Monsieur,  the  Count  of 
Artois,  and  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Berry,  with  the 
Marshals  of  France  and  the  Dukes  of  Gramont  and 
of  Havre,  both  captains  of  the  guard,  are  on  horse- 
back, one  on  the  right  side  of  the  coach,  and  the  other 
on  the  left.  On  the  back  seat  of  the  coach  may  be 
seen  Louis  XVIII.  with  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme. 
On  the  front  seat  are  the  Prince  of  Cond^  and  his 
son,  the  Duke  of  Bourbon,  father  of  the  unfortunate 
Duke  of  Enghien.  Behind  the  royal  coach  is  Mar- 
shal Moncey,  Duke  of  Conegliano,  with  a  party  of 
general  officers  of  the  army  and  a  detachment  of  the 
old  Imperial  Guard. 

Such  is  the  procession  which  reaches  the  Barrier 
Saint-Denis.  M.  de  Chabrol,  Prefect  of  the  Seine, 
surrounded  by  some  dozen  mayoi-s,  presents  to  the 
King  the  keys  of  the  city  on  a  golden  plate.  "  Sire," 
he  says,  "the  municipal  body  of  your  good  city  of 
Paris  lays  at  the  feet  of  Your  Majesty  the  keys  of  the 
capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Saint  Louis.  .  .  .    The  image 


THE  ENTRY  INTO    PARIS  33 

of  Henri  IV.,  of  the  sight  of  which  we  have  so  long 
been  deprived,  appears  once  more  on  this  solemn  day. 
It  recalls  to  us  days  of  affliction,  to  which  shall  soon 
succeed  days  of  public  rejoicing.  This  day  his  reign 
begins  once  more.  All  France,  France  blessed  by 
his  trust  and  his  love,  turns,  too,  its  glance  upon 
those  beloved  princes,  upon  an  august  princess  whose 
name  awakens  so  many  feelings  and  emotions,  and  it 
exclaims  with  transports  of  joy  and  tenderness :  '  Long 
live  the  King!  Long  live  the  Bourbons  I'" — "At 
length,"  replies  the  monarch,  "  I  am  in  my  good  city 
of  Paris !  I  am  greatly  moved  by  the  evidence  of 
love  she  gives  me  at  this  moment.  Nothing  could 
be  more  grateful  to  my  heart  than  to  see  erected 
the  statue  of  him  who,  among  all  my  ancestors,  is 
most  dear  to  me.  I  touch  the  keys,  and  I  restore 
them  to  you;  they  can  be  in  no  better  hands,  nor 
can  they  be  confided  to  magistrates  more  worthy  to 
bear  them." 

The  procession  continues  on  its  way.  A  magnifi- 
cent coronal  falls  into  the  royal  coach  as  it  passes 
under  the  triumphal  arch  at  the  Porte  Saint-Denis. 
The  shouting  is  very  enthusiastic.  The  cry  of  "Long 
live  the  Guard ! "  mingles  from  time  to  time  with  the 
shout  of  "  Long  live  the  King !  "  which  is  heard  con- 
tinually. When  the  Market  of  the  Innocents  is 
reached,  two  orchestras  are  found  there  which  play 
the  tune,  "Vive  Henri  IV."  The  King  stops  his  car- 
riage, that  he  may  receive  the  congratulations  of  the 
market-women.     At  the  same  instant  a  most  lovely 


34  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

little  child  presents  a  basket  of  flowers  to  the  Duchess 
of  Angouleme,  and  releases  two  young  turtle-doves 
which  fly  about  the  Princess.  It  is  half-past  two 
o'clock  when  the  procession  draws  up  before  the 
church  of  Notre-Dame.  Louis  XVIII.  is  received 
by  the  metropolitan  chapter  under  an  awning  spread 
before  the  great  gate.  The  Abb^  de  La  Myre  speaks. 
"Sire,"  says  he,  "one  of  the  illustrious  ancestors  of 
Your  Majesty  here  poured  out  at  the  foot  of  the  altar 
of  our  august  Patron  Saint  his  prayers  and  his  vows 
with  pious  trust,  and  to  him  was  granted  the  birth  of 
a  son,  Louis  XIV.  For  many  long  years  we,  too,  in 
silence  and  in  sorrow,  have  laid  on  the  same  altar  our 
prayers  and  our  tears,  and  to-day  Heaven  gives  us 
back  our  King,  our  father,  Louis  XVIII.  The  God 
of  Saint  Louis  has  raised  your  throne ;  you  will 
strengthen  His  altars.  'God  and  the  King'  is  our 
device;  it  has  always  been  the  motto  of  the  clergy 
of  France,  whose  mouth-piece  the  Church  of  Paris 
now  felicitates  itself  on  being." 

The  sovereign  responds :  "  Upon  entering  my 
good  city  of  Paris  my  first  concern  is  to  come  to 
thank  God  and  His  Holy  Mother,  the  all-powerful 
Protectress  of  France,  for  the  marvels  that  have 
ended  my  misfortunes.  I,  the  son  of  Saint  Louis, 
will  imitate  his  virtues." 

Then  the  monarch  is  borne  into  the  sanctuary  on  a 
throne  carried  by  four  canons.  At  his  right  hand 
is  Monsieur,  at  the  left  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme. 
The  Duke  of  Berry,  the  Prince  of  Cond^,  and  the 


THE  ENTRY  INTO  PARIS  35 

Duke  of  Bourbon  follow  the  throne.  Monseigneur 
de  Talleyrand-Pdrigord,  Archbishop  of  Rheims,  and 
Grand  Almoner  of  France,  hands  the  prayer-book  to 
the  King.  Domine  salvum  fac  regem  nostrum  Ludovi- 
cum  is  sung.     Then  the  Te  Deum  is  intoned. 

At  this  solemn  moment  there  is  but  one  thing  that 
disturbs  the  joy  of  the  royalists  ;  it  is  the  presence  of 
regicides  in  the  cathedral.  Listen  to  the  indignation 
of  the  Baron  of  Vitrolles :  "  Places,"  he  says,  "  had 
been  reserved  at  the  right  and  left  of  the  nave  for  all 
the  constituted  bodies,  the  municipal  council,  mem- 
bers of  the  courts  of  justice  and  the  treasury  courts, 
the  Corps  L<?gislatif  and  the  Senate,  —  that  Senate 
which  still  counted  among  its  members  several  regi- 
cides of  the  Convention.  I  was  disturbed  by  the 
idea  that  perhaps  some  of  these  great  criminals,  tak- 
ing advantage  of  their  high  positions,  would  slip  in 
among  those  who  were  engaged  more  immediately  in 
the  ceremonies,  and  I  had  spoken  to  M.  Pasquier, 
the  Prefect  of  Police,  about  the  matter,  begging  him 
to  use  all  the  means  in  our  power  to  prevent  the 
scandalous  anomaly  of  murderers  coming,  as  it  were, 
to  welcome  the  brothers  and  the  daughter  of  their 
victim.  But  it  became  evident  that  his  intervention 
was  useless ;  these  persons  set  at  naught  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  official,  and  insolently  came  to  affront 
God,  the  King,  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVL,  and,  so 
to  say,  all  France,  which  recoiled  from  them  with 
horror. 

"  The  King  was  in  the  choir.  Monsieur  the  King's 


36  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANOOUL^ME 

brother  and  Monseigneur  the  Buke  of  Berry,  at  his 
right  hand,  and  Madame  at  his  left,  all  kneeling  at 
prie-dieus,  on  cushions  that  had  been  arranged  for 
them.  The  members  of  the  Council  and  the  minis- 
ters stood  along  the  stalls  on  both  sides  of  the  choir. 
I  found  myself  one  of  those  who  were  nearest  to 
Madame ;  she  absorbed  all  my  thoughts,  and  I  pon- 
dered deeply  on  all  that  must  be  passing  through 
her  mind.  I  saw  that  she  was  disturbed,  pale,  trem- 
bling, and  weak  to  the  point  of  swooning.  Once  I 
even  took  a  step  forward  to  support  her;  my  imagi- 
nation represented  to  me  all  that  the  daughter  of 
Louis  XVI.  must  be  experiencing  as  vividly  as  hers 
could  have  felt  it." 

The  orphan  of'  the  Temple  was  not  the  oidy  one 
who  suffered  at  that  moment.  The  King  and  his 
retinue  had  but  now  left  Notre-Dame  to  return  to  the 
Tuileries.  A  regiment  of  the  Old  Guard  stood  in 
line  from  the  church  to  the  Pont  Neuf.  Hear  what 
M.  de  Chateaubriand,  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene, 
has  to  say  of  it :  "I  do  not  believe,"  says  he,  "  that 
human  beings  ever  before  formed  so  menacing  and 
terrible  a  spectacle.  Those  grenadiers  covered  with 
wounds,  the  conquerors  of  Europe,  past  whose  heads 
80  many  thousands  of  bullets  had  whistled,  who  had 
known  fire  and  powder,  —  those  same  men,  bereft  of 
their  captain,  were  obliged  to  salute  an  old  king, 
invalided  by  time,  not  by  war,  and  were  watched  by 
an  army  of  Russians,  Austrians,  and  Prussians  in  the 
capital  of  which  Napoleon  had  been  robbed.     Some, 


THE  ENTRY  INTO  PARIS  37 

by  knitting  their  brows,  brought  their  huge  hairy 
hats  down  over  their  eyes  so  that  they  might  not 
look;  others  curled  their  lips  in  angry  scorn,  and 
others  tigerishly  showed  their  teeth  under  their  mus- 
taches. When  they  presented  arms  it  was  with  a 
furious  movement,  and  the  rattle  of  the  weapons 
made  one  tremble.  Never,  surely,  had  men  been  put 
to  such  a  trial  or  suffered  such  torture." 

And  to  the  orphan  of  the  Temple  what  anguish 
even  at  the  moment  of  her  triumph !  While  the 
grenadiers  of  the  old  Imperial  Guard  were  trembling 
with  rage,  she  was  pale  with  grief.  During  the 
progress  from  Notre-Dame,  she  had  to  pass  the  Palace 
of  Justice  from  which  her  mother  had  been  led  to 
the  scaffold,  in  a  vile  cart,  and  amid  the  curses  of 
the  furies  of  the  guillotine.  There  loomed  up  the 
gloomy  turrets  of  the  Conciergerie,  the  last  prison  of 
the  Queen-Martyr.  The  Duchess  of  Angouleme  was 
suddenly  agitated.  Tears  rose  to  her  eyes.  The 
procession  has  now  stopped  on  the  Pont  Neuf  before 
the  statue  of  Henri  IV.  Madame  Blanchard,  the 
aeronaut,  makes  an  ascent  in  a  balloon,  holding  a 
white  flag  in  each  hand.  The  singers  of  the  Con- 
servatory strike  up  the  national  air,  "  Vive  Henri 
IV.,"  and  soldiers  and  people  repeat  it  in  chorus. 
Two  small  temples  have  been  erected  on  either  side 
of  the  statue,  one  dedicated  to  the  Harmony  of  the 
French,  and  the  other  to  the  Peace  of  Nations.  Great 
is  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people.  But  nothing  attracts 
the  attention  of  the  Princess,  oppressed  as  she  is 


38  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

with  gloomy  thoughts  and  mournful  memories.  The 
nearer  she  draws  to  the  Tuileries,  the  more  agitated 
she  becomes,  for  she  is  returning  to  that  majestic  and 
fatal  palace  which  she  left  on  August  10,  1792,  and 
which,  since  then,  she  has  never  seen.  It  is  not  the 
present  acclaims  that  she  liears,  but  the  far-off  echoes 
of  mourning  and  massacre.  She  seems  to  see  the 
red  caps  of  pikemen  and  the  corpses  of  the  mur- 
dered Swiss.  The  Tuileries  is  to  her  not  the  abode 
of  pride  and  joy,  but  a  place  accursed.  She  treads 
the  threshold  with  feelings  of  repugnance  and  horror 
alone.  On  this  splendid  day  when  the  sun  sinks  in 
refulgence  below  the  horizon,  and  its  brightness,  like 
the  flame  of  an  apotheosis,  illuminates  the  triumi)hal 
return  of  the  brother  of  Louis  XVI.,  she,  the  child 
of  martyrs,  is  sad  at  heart.  Nevertheless  she  alights 
from  the  carriage.  But,  despite  all  the  firmness  of 
her  nature,  she  is  unable  to  endure  such  emotion,  and 
swoons  when  two  hundred  women,  robed  in  white, 
and  decked  with  lilies,  kneel  before  her  and  say: 
"  Daughter  of  Louis  XVI.,  grant  us  your  blessing  I  " 
Borne  half-dead  to  her  apartments,  she  recovers  only 
to  weep  and  pray. 

Louis  XVIII.  remains  calm.  He,  who  had  seen 
neither  the  20th  of  June  nor  the  10th  of  August, 
is  assailed  by  no  such  emotions.  He  is  escorted  to 
the  room  on  the  first  floor,  between  the  Throne  Salon 
and  the  Gallery  of  Diana,  which  but  a  few  days 
before  was  known  as  the  Emperor's  Salon. 

The   royalists   congratulated   themselves    on    the 


THE  ENTRY  INTO  PARIS  39 

outcome  of  the  day.  "Never,"  says  the  Baron  of 
Vitrolles,  "had  Paris  been  so  greatly  moved.  I 
had  seen  Bonaparte's  entrance  into  the  Tuileries : 
it  was  cold,  silent,  and  solitary.  Upon  his  return 
from  his  greatest  victories  I  had  seen  him  received 
with  utter  indifference,  and  at  most  but  slightly 
applauded  when  he  attended  the  theatre.  When 
he  rode  on  horseback  along  the  boulevards,  only  a 
few  children  could  be  seen  trotting  along  beside  him 
and  crying,  '  Long  live  the  Emperor ! '  There  were 
not  enough  of  them  to  make  one  think  that  they 
were  not  all  doing  their  best  under  the  pay  of  the 
police.  We  rejoiced  without  stint  in  this  triumph  of 
the  ancient  race  of  our  kings." 

But  there  were  shadows  in  the  picture  drawn  in 
such  brilliant  colors  by  M.  de  Vitrolles.  "  Already," 
says  Count  Beugnot,  "  we  could  see  what  a  sorry 
leave  of  all  our  victories  we  had  been  forced  to  take. 
The  comrades  of  Napoleon  deeply  lamented  him, 
and  derided  a  king  lolling  in  his  easy-chair."  The 
appearance  of  the  King  was,  indeed,  exceedingly 
singular  to  a  nation  of  soldiers  which  for  fifteen 
years  had  had  a  man  of  devouring  activity  for  its 
chief.  One  would  hardly  believe  to  what  an  extent 
this  comparison  injured  Louis  XVIII.  Bourrienne, 
another  witness  of  the  royal  entry,  says :  "  On  the 
day  of  the  entry  of  the  King,  there  was  no  such 
enthusiasm  as  on  that  when  Monsieur,  the  King's 
brother,  came  to  Paris.  When  I  walked  about,  I 
noticed  a  curious  kind  of  wonder  everywhere." 


40  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

The  enthusiasm  was  indeed  far  from  universal. 
Under  a  foreign  invasion  there  could  be  no  real 
festivities.  A  dismembered  nation,  which  but  now 
has  lost  the  fruit  of  so  many  glorious  efforts,  has 
no  right  to  rejoice.  The  good  sense  of  the  public 
had  observed,  and  not  without  severe  reflections 
upon  them,  the  over-sudden  recantations  of  Napo- 
leon's mai-shals.  "I  was  in  the  crowd,  watching 
the  procession,"  says  Savary,  Duke  of  Rovigo,  in 
his  Memoirs.  "  If  the  men  who  had  shared  the  mis- 
fortunes of  his  exile  had  been  seen  on  horseback 
beside  the  King's  carriage,  it  would  have  seemed 
perfectly  natural ;  but  it  impressed  one  as  a  some- 
what indecent  thing  that  men  should  figure  in  the 
suite  of  Louis  XVIII.  who  had  been  most  prominent 
in  the  Emperor's  triumphal  processions.  The  com- 
mon people,  who  have  more  sense  of  propriety  than 
would  be  supposed,  treated  Berthier  without  cere- 
mony. I  frequently  heard  the  crowd  cry  out  at  him : 
'  To  the  island  of  Elba !     To  the  island  of  Elba ! '  " 

By  a  singular  coincidence,  on  that  very  3d  of 
May,  1814,  at  nightfall,  when  all  Paris  was  ablaze 
to  celebrate  the  King's  return,  the  English  frigate 
Undaunted^  bearing  the  Emperor,  who  had  now  been 
transformed  into  the  sovereign  of  the  island  of  Elba, 
approached  Porto-Ferrajo  and  hove  to,  a  quarter  of  a 
league  from  the  town.  France  for  Louis  XVIII. ; 
for  Napoleon,  the  island  of  Elba !  The  King  entered 
his  capital  on  the  3d  of  May,  and  Napoleon  was  to 
enter  his  on  the  day  following. 


THE  ALLIES 

LOUIS  XVIII.  had  had  the  tact  to  ask,  and  the 
good  fortune  to  have  his  request  granted,  that 
no  foreign  troops  should  be  present  at  the  celebra- 
tion of  his  return  to  his  capital.  The  patriotism  of 
the  Parisians  had  enabled  them  for  a  moment  to  for- 
get the  affliction  of  the  nation.  On  the  next  day, 
which  was  the  4th  of  May,  their  conquerors  held 
a  grand  review.  Following  is  the  comment  made 
by  the  Moniteur  of  May  5th,  in  its  report :  "  Yester- 
day there  was  a  grand  parade  of  all  the  allied  troops. 
They  formed  in  line  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Seine. 
At  three  o'clock  they  defiled,  infantry,  cavalry,  and 
artillery,  under  the  King's  windows ;  they  were 
commanded  by  S.  A.  I.,  the  Grand  Duke  Constan- 
tine.  Their  Majesties,  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  the 
Emperor  of  Austria,  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  and 
their  Royal  Highnesses,  Monsieur  and  Monseigneur 
the  Duke  of  Berry,  were  close  to  the  King.  The 
Duchess  of  Angouleme  was  beside  them.  The  pub- 
lic, which  flocked  under  the  windows  of  the  Pavilion 
of  Flora,  constantly  cried:  "Long  live  the  King! 
Long  live  the  Allied  Sovereigns ! "     Louis  XVIII. 

41 


42  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULMiE 

thought  that  he  had  saved  the  national  dignity  by 
taking  precedence  of  the  foreign  monarchs.  "  His 
Bourbon  pride  was  so  exaggerated  and  absurd," 
said  Marshal  Marmont,  "  that  he,  who  was  so  much 
indebted  to  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  contrive(| 
on  two  occasions  to  take  precedence  of  them, 
and  at  his  own  house.  He  gave  a  dinner  to  the 
Emperor  Alexander  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  and 
sat  down  first  at  the  table.  On  another  occasion, 
having  gone  to  a  balcony  to  see  the  troops  pass, 
he  ordered  an  easy-chair  for  himself  and  simple 
chairs  for  them.  The  sovereigns  remained  stand- 
ing, and  it  was  commonly  thought  that  the  King 
sat  in  the  easj'-chair  because  of  his  infirmities." 

The  pride  that  amused  Marmont  excited  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  admiration  in  Chateaubriand,  who 
says :  "  When  Louis  XVHI.  accorded  to  the  tri- 
umphant monarchs  the  honor  of  dining  with  him, 
he  unceremoniously  preceded  princes  whose  soldiera 
were  encamped  in  the  court  of  the  Louvre ;  he 
treated  them  like  vassals  who  had  done  only  their 
duty  in  bringing  armed  men  to  their  lord  suzerain. 
All  royal  families  are  but  of  yesterday  when  com- 
pared with  the  family  of  Hugh  Capet,  and  nearly 
all  of  them  are  the  offspring  of  that  family.  The 
more  impolitic  was  that  same  superb  haughtiness 
of  the  descendant  of  Saint  Louis  (it  was  disas- 
trous to  his  successoi's),  the  more  it  pleased  the 
national  pride.  The  French  were  delighted  to  see 
sovereigns   who,  when   vanquished,   had  borne   the 


THE  ALLIES  43 


chains  of  one  man,  bear,  when  conquerors,  the  yoke 
of  one  race." 

The  allied  monarchs  were  modest  in  their  triumph. 
In  Paris  they  lived  the  life  of  ordinary  people,  with 
no  pretence  of  superior  power  or  any  show  of  roy- 
alty. "  They  declined,"  as  we  are  told  by  the  Baron 
of  Vitrolles,  "  to  occupy  any  of  the  royal  mansions, 
—  the  Tuileries,  the  Luxembourg,  or  even  the  Pa- 
lais Royal,  —  a  simplicity  of  good  taste  which  is  in 
strong  contrast  with  the  lordly  vanity  of  Bonaparte, 
who,  at  Vienna,  Berlin,  and  Moscow,  strutted  in  the 
dwellings  of  kings  as  if  to  signalize  his  victories. 
Ordinarily  they  went  through  the  streets  without 
wearing  any  distinguishing  costume  ;  and  sometimes 
on  foot  without  any  escort,  as  if  they  wished  to  keep 
all  tokens  of  defeat  from  the  eyes  of  the  Parisians ; 
and  for  this  they  received  their  reward.  The  good 
wishes  of  the  public  surrounded  them  everywhere  — 
in  the  streets,  when  they  were  recognized,  with 
shouts  and  vivas ;  at  spectacles,  with  rounds  of  ap- 
plause and,  when  their  presence  was  foreseen,  with 
couplets  in  their  honor,  the  frequent  exaggerations 
of  which  surprised  even  ourselves."  The  foreign 
sovereigns  became  popular.  They  amused  them- 
selves by  mingling  in  the  crowds  and  going  incog- 
nito to  the  shows  at  small  theatres.  The  King  of 
Prussia  found  pleasure  in  going  alone  to  the  "  Mon- 
tagnes  Russes,"  and  rolling  up  and  down  their 
steep  inclines  in  a  double-seated  car,  side  by  side 
with  a  woman  he  did  not  know.     "  Who  were  they 


44  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

who  spent  their  time  with  the  autocrat  Alexander  ?  " 
says  Chateaubriand.  "  Scholars  of  the  Institute, 
savants,  men  of  letters,  philosophers,  philanthropists, 
and  the  like.  They  were  delighted  and  went  away 
loaded  down  with  eulogies  and  snuff-boxes." 

It  must  be  said  that  the  French  officers  did  not 
share  this  infatuation  for  the  foreigners.  They  kept 
away  from  the  theatres  as  long  as  the  allied  troops 
occupied  the  capital.  They  walked  about  deject- 
edly, like  civilians,  without  uniforms  or  decorations. 
There  were  royalists,  too,  who  shared  in  their  dejec- 
tion. Madame  de  Stael  says  that  when  she  landed 
at  Calais  after  ten  years  of  exile,  she  counted  on  the 
great  pleasure  she  was  to  have  in  seeing  once  more 
the  beautiful  land  of  France  which  she  had  so  much 
regretted.  Her  sensations  were  utterly  different 
from  what  she  had  expected.  The  firet  men  she  saw 
on  the  shore  were  dressed  in  Prussian  uniforms ; 
they  were  masters  of  the  city,  and  had  gained  the 
right  to  it  through  conquest.  As  she  neared  Paris, 
Russians,  Cossacks,  and  Bashkirs  met  her  sight  on 
every  hand :  they  encamped  around  the  church  of 
Saint-Denis  in  which  reposed  the  ashes  of  the  French 
kings.  When  she  entered  the  capital  in  which  she 
had  passed  her  happiest  and  most  brilliant  days,  she 
felt  as  in  a  painful  dream.  "  Was  I  in  Germany  or 
in  Russia?"  she  says.  "Had  they  imitated  the 
streets  and  public  squares  of  France  in  order  to  re- 
call it  to  memory  when  it  existed  no  longer  ?  My 
whole  being  was  troubled ;  for,  notwithstanding  my 


THE  ALLIES  45 


intense  suffering,  I  esteemed  the  strangers  for  remov- 
ing the  yoke  from  our  necks.  I  admired  them  be- 
yond measure  at  that  time,  but  it  was  an  insupport- 
able grief  to  me  to  see  Paris  occupied  by  them,  and 
the  Tuileries  and  Louvre  guarded  by  soldiers  brought 
from  the  confines  of  Asia,  and  to  whom  our  lan- 
guage, our  history,  and  our  great  men  were  less 
known  than  the  last  Tartar  Khan." 

Listen  once  more  to  Madame  de  Stael  as  she  gives 
an  account  of  a  representation  at  the  Opera  during 
the  foreign  occupation :  "  Some  days  after  my  ar- 
rival," she  tells  us,  "  I  wished  to  go  to  the  Opera ; 
many  a  time  during  my  exile  had  I  recalled  that 
daily  fete  in  Paris  as  being  more  pleasing  and  bril- 
liant than  all  the  wonderful  pomps  of  other  lands. 
The  play  was  the  ballet  of  '  Psyche,'  which  had 
been  rendered,  continuously  for  twenty  years,  under 
circumstances  of  great  difficulty.  The  stairs  of  the 
Opera  were  lined  with  Russian  guards.  On  entering 
the  house  I  looked  about  to  find  some  face  known 
to  me,  and  I  saw  only  foreign  uniforms.  There  were 
some  few  old  citizens  of  Paris  in  the  parterre,  who 
had  come  so  as  not  to  break  up  their  old  habits ;  for 
the  rest,  all  the  spectators  had  changed;  the  spec- 
tacle alone  remained  the  same ;  the  decorations,  the 
music,  the  dancing,  had  lost  none  of  their  charm,  and 
I  was  humiliated  to  see  French  grace  thrown  away 
on  these  sabres  and  mustaches  as  if  it  had  been  the 
duty  of  the  vanquished  to  amuse  their  conquerors." 

The  Emperor  Alexander  was  somewhat  distant  to 


46  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULJ^ME 

Louis  XVIII.  without  becoming  embroiled  with  him. 
The  Czar  could  not  forget  that  he  had  only  to  say 
the  word,  and  the  Restoration  would  be  overthrown, 
and  the  King  of  Rome  proclaimed.  He  considered 
Louis  XVIII.  an  ingrate,  ill  advised,  and  infatuated 
as  to  the  superiority  of  his  royal  line.  He  was  hurt 
at  not  having  received  the  cordon  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
which  was  given  to  the  Prince  Regent  of  England, 
and  at  not  having  obtained  a  seat  in  the  Chamber  for 
his  protdg^,  the  Duke  of  Vicenza.  So  he  very  sel- 
dom appeared  at  the  Tuileries.  He  preferred  the 
society  of  Prince  Eugene  de  Beauharnais  to  that  of 
Louis  XVIII.,  and  became  the  intimate  friend  and 
courtier  of  the  Empress  Josephine  and  Queen  Hor- 
tense,  for  whom,  by  dint  of  persistent  application,  he 
had  obtained  the  title  of  Duchess  of  Saint-Leu. 
These  two  Princesses  pleased  him  far  more  than  the 
austere  Duchess  of  Angouleme.  Not  long  ago  the 
Emperor  William  said  that  he  perfectly  well  remem- 
bered one  evening  that  he  spent,  in  1814,  with  the 
Empress  Josephine  at  Malmaison,  in  company  with 
his  father,  Frederick  William  III.,  and  his  brother, 
Frederick  William  IV.,  the  Emperor  Alexander,  and 
the  Russian  Grand  Dukes  Constantine  and  Nicholas. 
Queen  Hortense  sang  a  romanza  of  her  own  compo- 
sition, and  it  seems  that  as  she  sang  she  smiled  with 
special  favor  on  the  handsome  Grand  Duke  Nicholas, 
the  future  Czar. 

On    the    16th    of    May,    Prince    Schwarzenberg, 
the  Austrian  field  marshal,  gave  a  f6te  at  liis  head- 


THE  ALLIES  47 


quarters,  the  chateau  of  Saint-Cloud,  at  which  the 
Emperor  Alexander,  the  Grand  Dukes  of  Russia,  the 
Prussian  King  and  Princes,  the  Duke  of  Berry,  and 
a  large  number  of  general  and  superior  officers,  both 
foreign  and  French,  were  present.  The  Moniteur 
reported  this  fete,  which  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme 
had  the  good  taste  not  to  attend.  The  palace  of 
Saint-Cloud  was  illuminated  most  splendidly.  Mem- 
bers of  the  Com^die-Fran^aise  played  "  The  Legacy  " 
and  the  "  Suite  d'un  Bal  Masqu^  "  on  a  stage  specially 
put  up  at  the  lower  end  of  the  great  gallery  painted 
by  Mignard.  After  the  play  there  was  a  ball  in  the 
Salon  de  Mars.  The  Czar  took  part  in  the  dancing. 
The  assembly  then  adjourned  to  a  large  hall  in 
which  a  magnificent  dinner  was  served.  This  hall, 
which  communicated  with  the  Orangery,  was  filled 
with  shrubs  and  flowers,  the  sight  of  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  Moniteur^  reminded  the  Emperor  of  Russia 
of  the  beautiful  conservatories  of  Saint  Petersburg. 
On  the  29th  of  May,  the  Day  of  Pentecost, 
the  attendance  at  the  palace  of  the  Tuileries  was 
very  large  and  brilliant.  The  princes  of  the  royal 
family  and  the  blood  royal  met.  There  for  the  first 
time  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  appeared  in  the  new 
court  costume,  which  consisted  of  a  white  silk  dress 
with  a  long  train  and  a  lace  head-dress  with  hanging 
lappets.  On  the  same  day  died  the  woman  who  had 
been  Empress  of  the  French  and  Queen  of  Italy. 
On  the  next  day  the  Journal  des  DSbats  announced 
%i  the  same  time  the  royal  audience  at  the  Tuileries 


48  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

and  the  death  of  the  former  Empress.  The  royalist 
journal  thus  expressed  itself :  "  The  mother  of  Prince 
Eugene  died  at  noon  in  the  chateau  of  Malmaison, 
after  an  illness  which  first  showed  itself  as  a  catarrhal 
fever  and  then  suddenly  assumed  such  a  malignant 
character  that  she  succumbed  to  it  at  the  end  of  three 
i  days.  She  received  all  the  aids  of  religion  with  as 
much  piety  as  resignation.  .  .  .  Some  hours  before 
her  death  she  counted  with  pleasure  upon  the  regret 
of  the  many  families  whom  she  had  had  the  pleasure 
of  assisting,  and  the  hope  of  this  regret  seemed  much 
to  alleviate  her  sufferings."  On  the  day  after  that 
on  which  the  companion  of  Napoleon's  happy  days 
received  the  last  sacraments,  France  signed  the 
treaty  by  which  it  relinquished  all  the  conquests  of 
the  Revolution  and  the  Empire. 

Having  nothing  further  to  wish  for,  the  foreigners 
decided  to  take  their  departure.  On  the  1st  of 
June  the  Emperors  of  Russia  and  Austria  went  to 
the  Tuileries  to  take  leave  of  the  King  and  the  princes 
of  his  family.  On  the  following  day  the  Czar  was 
represented  at  the  funeral  of  the  Empress  Josephine 
and  left  the  capital ;  the  Austrian  Emperor  set  out 
on  the  same  day;  on  the  4th  of  June  the  King  of 
Prussia  also  departed,  and  all  the  allied  troops  which 
yet  remained  in  Paris  and  its  vicinity  followed  on  the 
next  morning. 

The  Czar  was  dissatisfied  with  the  whole  affair. 
In  conversation  with  Prince  Eugene  de  Beauharnais, 
to  whom  he  displayed  the  most  intense  sympathy,  he 


THE  ALLIES  49 


said:  "I  do  not  know  but  I  shall  repent  having 
re-seated  the  Bourbons  on  the  throne ;  we  have  had 
them  in  Russia,  and  I  know  how  to  conduct  myself 
so  far  as  they  are  concerned."  To  the  great  scandal 
of  the  royalists,  he  had  pretended  to  delight  in  the 
society  of  liberals.  Once  when  he  met  M.  de  Lafay- 
ette in  the  salon  of  Madame  de  Stael,  he  complained 
—  he,  the  autocrat  —  of  the  prejudices  of  the  old 
regime  which  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  government 
of  the  Bourbons  and,  when  the  old  revolutionist 
seemed  to  think  that  misfortune  would  have  some 
corrective  effect  on  them,  "  They  corrected ! "  ex- 
claimed the  Czar.  "They  are  uncorrected  and  in- 
corrigible. There  is  only  one  of  them  —  the  Duke 
of  Orleans  —  who  has  liberal  ideas ;  as  to  the  rest 
of  them,  never  allow  yourself  to  hope  for  anything 
from  them."  "  If  that  is  your  opinion.  Sire,"  replied 
M.  de  Lafayette,  "  why  have  you  restored  them  ?  " 
"  It  is  not  my  fault,"  replied  the  Emperor.  "  They 
were  pressed  upon  me  from  all  sides.  I  wished  to 
keep  them  back  in  order  that  the  nation  might  have 
time  to  impose  a  constitution  on  them.  They  over- 
whelmed me  like  a  flood.  You  know  that  I  went 
to  Compidgne  to  see  the  King:  I  wanted  to  get  him 
to  give  up  his  nineteen  years  of  reign  and  preten- 
sions of  that  sort.  A  deputation  from  the  Corps 
L^gislatif  was  there  as  soon  as  I  was,  to  recognize  him 
at  all  times  and  without  conditions.  What  could  I 
do  when  the  King  and  the  deputies  were  of  the  same 
mind?  The  whole  thing  was  a  failure,  and  I  went 
away  much  distressed." 


60  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULISME 

Before  leaving  Paris  this  autocrat,  absolute  at 
home,  liberal  abroad,  and  mystifying  everywhere,  had 
caused  a  religious  service  to  be  held  in  the  Place  de 
la  Concorde.  Chateaubriand  says :  "  An  altar  was 
erected  on  the  spot  where  the  scaffold  of  Louis  XVI. 
had  been  put  up.  Seven  Muscovite  priests  celebrated, 
and  foreign  troops  were  drawn  up  before  the  altar. 
The  Te  Deum  was  sung  to  one  of  the  beautiful  tunes 
of  the  ancient  Greek  Church.  Soldiers  and  sover- 
eigns knelt  to  receive  the  blessing.  The  minds  of  the 
French  reverted  to  1793  and  1794,  when  cattle 
refused  to  walk  on  the  stones  rendered  hateful  to 
them  by  the  smell  of  blood.  To  this  feast  of  expia- 
tion what  hand  had  led  these  men  from  all  lands, 
these  descendants  of  old  barbarous  invaders,  these 
Tartars,  some  of  whom  dwelt  in  sheepskin  tent« 
under  the  great  Chinese  wall?" 


VI 

THE  COURT 

THE  court  was  established  at  the  Tuileries  on 
the  3d  of  May,  1814.  It  was  to  remain  there 
till  the  19th  of  March,  1815.  Louis  XVIII.  occupied 
the  chamber  of  Napoleon  on  the  first  floor,  which 
opened  on  the  garden  and  adjoined  the  large  apart- 
ments overlooking  the  Carrousel.  Monsieur,  the 
King's  brother,  and  the  Duke  of  Berry  were  installed 
in  the  Pavilion  de  Marsan.  The  Duchess  of  Angou- 
leme  lived  in  the  Pa\'ilion  of  Flora,  where  she  could 
recall  mournful  memories  of  Madame  Elisabeth  and 
the  Princess  of  Lamballe,  who  had  also  dwelt  there. 
Court  etiquette  was  about  the  same  under  royalty 
as  under  imperialism.  But  the  general  appearance 
of  the  palace  underwent  some  modifications ;  there 
were  more  courtiers,  and  especially  was  there  much 
more  domesticity.  Types  the  most  diverse  met 
there.  An  old  SmigrS^  the  Count  of  Puymaigre, 
gives  this  description  of  it :  "  What  a  singular  mix- 
ture I  saw  in  1814  when  I  reached  Paris  in  July  I  — 
a  mixture  of  courtiers  of  all  epochs ;  of  military  men 
of  the  times  before,  during,  and  after  the  Revolution ! 
Here  was  an  officer  escaped  from  the  disaster  at  Mos- 

61 


52  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

COW ;  there  another  who  had  put  on  again  the 
uniform  of  the  army  of  Coud^ ;  yonder  a  Venddan 
dressed  in  green,  or  a  Chouan  in  iron  gray;  and  then 
one  of  those  young  men  who,  wishing  to  keep  out  of 
harm's  way,  had  enlisted  as  soon  as  peace  came. 
The  old  regime  and  the  new  were  face  to  face,  and  it 
should  also  be  said  that,  aside  from  some  wise  men,  — 
and  there  were  very  few  such,  —  everybody  remained 
fixed  in  his  old  prejudices,  in  his  antipathies,  and  in 
his  political  theories,  and  all,  nevertheless,  besieged 
the  Tuileries  and  the  offices  of  the  ministers  with 
the  same  importunity." 

A  strange  and  particolored  court  filled  with  hete- 
rogeneous and  diverse  elements;  a  court  confused 
and  contradictory;  a  true  picture  of  a  France  thus 
divided!  How  many  people  could  say  to  themselves 
at  the  Tuileries  what  the  Doge  of  Genoa  said  to  him- 
self at  Versailles :  "  What  most  surprises  me  here  is 
to  find  myself  here  at  all."  What  a  singular  gather- 
ing I  Volunteers  of  1792  side  by  side  with  the  sol- 
diers of  Cond^;  defenders  of  the  throne  and  the 
altar  mingling  with  regicides,  and  Vend^ans  with 
men  who  had  been  the  mere  tools  of  Napoleon. 
Etiquette  always  prevents  controversies  at  the  Tui- 
leries, and  men  who  at  bottom  are  agreed  in  mutual 
hatred,  have  officially  for  each  other  only  polite 
phrases.  "The  fear  which  the  imperial  govern- 
ment inspired,"  says  Madame  de  Stael,  "  had  entirely 
destroyed  the  customary  freedom  of  conversation; 
under  that  government  nearly  all  Frenchmen  became 


THE  COURT  53 


diplomatists,  so  that  society  indulged  only  in  insipid 
talk  which  never  recalled  the  bold  spirit  of  France. 
Assuredly  no  one  had  anything  to  fear  in  1814,  under 
Louis  XVIII. ;  but  the  habit  of  reserve  had  become 
fixed  and,  besides,  the  courtiers  thought  it  would  not 
be  'good  form'  to  talk  politics  or  to  discuss  any 
serious  subject;  they  hoped  that  in  this  way  the 
nation  might  be  made  frivolous  again,  and,  conse- 
quently, submissive  :  but  the  only  result  they  accom- 
plished was  to  render  conversation  insipid,  and  to 
deprive  themselves  of  all  means  of  getting  at  any- 
body's opinions." 

And  yet  there  was  one  theme  upon  which  every 
one  was  allowed  to  touch,  and  that  was  satire  of  the 
imperial  government.  Listen  to  Madame  de  Stael 
again:  "The  most  moderate  party  was  made  up  of 
the  royalists  who  had  returned  with  the  King  and 
who  had  never  forsaken  him  during  his  exile,  —  the 
Count  of  Blacas,  the  Duke  of  Gramont,  the  Duke  of 
Castries,  the  Count  of  Vaudreuil,  etc.  Their  con- 
sciences bore  witness  that  they  had  acted  in  the  most 
noble  and  disinterested  manner  from  their  point  of 
view,  and  they  were  quiet  and  kindly  disposed.  But 
those  wlio  had  most  difficulty  in  restraining  their 
virtuous  indignation  against  the  party  of  the  usurper 
were  the  nobles  or  their  adherents  who,  while  that 
same  usurper  was  in  power,  had  asked  for  place,  and 
had  left  him  at  once  on  the  day  of  his  downfall. 
The  enthusiasm  for  legitimacy  which  was  displayed 
by  such  persons  as  the  chamberlain  of  Madame  Mdre 


64  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULSME 

and  the   tiring-woman  of   Madame   Soeur  knew  no 
bounds." 

The  King  did  not  re-establish  the  conditions  which 
under  the  old  regime  had  been  exacted  in  order  to  be 
received  at  court.  He  politely  received  all  who  were 
presented,  no  matter  what-  camp  they  had  belonged 
to  or  what  cockade  they  had  worn.  Sometimes  they 
were  old  republicans,  sometimes  they  were  even 
members  of  the  Convention,  and  again  they  were 
deputies  of  the  West,  wearing  the  white  emblems 
of  their  party,  or  precinct  captains  from  La  Vendue 
wearing  hats  of  the  style  of  Rochejacquelein.  Cha- 
teaubriand says :  "  Uniforms  of  Napoleon's  Guard 
intermingled  with  those  of  the  body-guard  and  of  the 
Maison-Rouge,  cut  precisely  after  the  old  patterns. 
The  aged  Duke  of  Havr^,  with  his  powdered  wig  and 
his  black  cane,  walked  with  trembling  head  as  cap- 
tain of  the  body-guard,  near  Marshal  Victor,  limping 
in  the  manner  of  Bonaparte ;  the  Duke  of  Mouchy, 
who  had  never  witnessed  the  firing  of  a  gun,  went 
to  Mass  side  by  side  with  Marshal  Oudinot,  riddled 
with  wounds ;  the  chateau  of  the  Tuileries,  so  pre- 
cise and  military  under  Napoleon,  was  now,  instead 
of  smelling  of  powder,  redolent  of  the  odors  of  food 
cooking  on  every  hand ;  under  messieurs  the  gentle- 
men of  the  bedchamber  and  messieurs  the  gentlemen 
of  the  wardrobe  everything  assumed  an  air  of  domes- 
ticity." The  author  of  the  MSmoires  d^  Outre- Tombe 
also  places  before  our  eyes  ladies  of  the  imperial  court 
introducing   the   dowagers   of   the  Faubouig  Saint- 


THE  COURT  55 


Germain  and  showing  them  the  intricacies  of  the 
chS,teau ;  Conventionists  who  had  by  turns  become 
counts,  barons,  and  senator's  under  Napoleon  and 
peers  under  Louis  XVIII.,  relapsing,  now  into  the 
republican  dialect,  which  they  had  almost  forgotten, 
and  now  into  the  idiom  of  absolutism,  which  they 
had  learned  thoroughly;  lieutenant-generals  raised 
to  game-keepers:  aides-de-camp  of  the  last  military 
tyrant  discussing  the  inviolable  liberties  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  regicides  with  pious  warmth  upholding  the 
dogma  of  legitimacy. 

The  court  functionaries  had  been  re-established. 
M.  de  Talleyrand-P^rigord,  Archbishop-Duke  of 
Rheims,  was  Grand  Almoner;  the  Prince  of  Cond^ 
was  Grand  Master  of  France ;  the  Count  of  Blacas, 
Grand  Master  of  the  Wardrobe ;  the  Marquis  of 
Dreux-Br^zd,  Grand  Master  of  Ceremonies ;  the 
Dukes  of  Richelieu,  of  Duras,  of  Aumont,  and  of 
Fleury,  First  Gentlemen  of  the  Bedchamber;  the 
Marquises  of  Avaray  and  of  Boisgelin,  Masters  of 
the  Wardrobe ;  the  Duke  of  Mortemart,  Commander 
of  the  Hundred  Switzers ;  the  Marquis  of  Vernon, 
Chief  Equerry;  the  Count  of  Cossd-Brissac,  First 
Pantler;  the  Marquis  of  La  Suze,  Grand  Master  of 
the  Lodges;  the  Count  of  Escars,  Grand  Maitre 
d'H6tel;  and  the  Marquis  of  Mondragon,  Maitre 
d'HStel  Ordinaire. 

The  military  household  of  the  King  was  revived 
on  the  same  footing  that  it  had  held  previously  to 
the  reforms  which  reasons  of  economy  had  suggested 


56  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

to  Louis  XVI.  The  companies  of  the  body-guard, 
each  of  which  had  hitherto  been  four  hundred  men 
strong,  including  their  supernumeraries,  were  en- 
larged to  six  hundred  each,  instead  of  four  hundred. 
The  first  were  commanded  by  the  old  titularies,  —  the 
Duke  of  Havrd-Croi,  the  Duke  of  Gramont,  the 
Prince  of  Poix  (Noailles),  and  the  Duke  of  Luxem- 
bourg (Montmorency).  The  King  gave  the  other 
two  to  Marshal  Berthier,  Duke  of  Wagram  and  Neuf- 
chS,tel,  and  Marshal  Marmont,  Duke  of  Ragusa. 
Each  of  these  six  officers  bore  the  title  of  Captain  of 
the  Body-guard.  The  two  companies  of  light-horse 
and  gendarmes  of  the  guard,  which  were  called  "  the 
red  companies "  because  of  their  uniforms,  were 
given,  one  to  Count  Charles  de  Damas,  Lieutenant- 
Captain  of  the  Light-horse  of  the  Guard,  and  the 
other  to  Count  Etienne  de  Durfort,  with  the  title  of 
Lieutenant-Captain  of  the  Gendarmes  of  the  Guard. 
Both  of  these  men  had  been  aides-de-camp  of  the 
Count  of  Artois.  The  companies  of  Royal  Muske- 
teers, the  gray  and  the  black,  —  named  so,  because  of 
the  color  of  their  horses,  —  were  placed  under  the 
command  of  two  generals  who  had  belonged  to  the 
Imperial  Army — the  Count  of  Nansouty  and  the 
Marquis  of  Lagrange.  The  Marquis  of  Rochejaque- 
lein  had  command  of  the  company  of  mounted  grena- 
diers, which  was  made  up  of  a  hundred  men  chosen 
from  the  ranks  of  all  arras.  There  were,  besides, 
two  other  corps  in  the  royal  household  —  the  guards 
of  the  gate  and  the  guards  of  the  provostship  of  the 


THE  COURT  57 


hotel,  whose  business  it  also  was  to  act  as  Guards  of 
the  Seals.  The  Count  of  Vergennes  commanded  the 
former,  and  the  second  were  under  the  orders  of  the 
Count  of  Monsoreau,  who  acted  as  Grand  Provost, 
holding  the  office  in  reversion  from  the  Marquis  of 
Tourzet,  the  titulary  commander. 

Although  he  was  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  military 
household.  Marshal  Marmont  criticised  the  institu- 
tion very  severely :  "  That  establishment,"  said  he, 
"  gave  occasion  for  the  creation  of  five  thousand  offi- 
cers, —  subaltern,  superior,  or  general.  One  may 
judge,  at  a  glance,  of  the  effect  thus  produced  on  the 
army  at  the  very  moment  when  the  most  far-reaching 
and  least-understood  reforms  had  struck  at  a  multi- 
tude of  brave  officers,  covered  with  glory  and  in  the 
full  vigor  of  manhood.  The  Abb^  Louis,  with  hard 
and  sordid  calculation,  applied  the  reform  to  a  great 
number  of  men  at  the  very  time  when  it  was  most 
important  to  attach  the  army  to  him,  to  make  it  feel 
secure,  and  to  soften  any  hardships  that  the  changes 
might  impose  upon  it.  And  all  this  was  done  in 
order  to  save  two  millions  when  the  military  estab- 
lishment of  the  King  was  to  cost  more  than  three 
millions.  One  can  hardly  understand  a  course  of 
conduct  so  unjust  and  so  impolitic." 

Notwithstanding  this,  the  Restoration,  at  the  start, 
met  with  so  much  sympathy,  especially  from  the 
middle  classes  of  Paris,  that  the  very  military  estab- 
lishment, which  was  destined  so  soon  to  become  un- 
popular, was  at  first  looked  upon  with  favor.     "It 


58  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUhtME 

is  difficult,"  says  the  Baron  of  VitroUes,  "  to  show  the 
extent  to  which  the  revival  of  those  figures  of  times 
past  pleased  the  people  and  public  opinion.  I  saw 
the  crowd  press  around  the  first  detachments  of  light 
cavalry  and  gendarmes  of  the  guard,  and  applaud 
their  splendid  uniforms  overlaid  with  sleeveless 
white  jackets,  on  which,  both  on  breast  and  back, 
was  a  large  red  cross  that  seemed  to  date  from  the 
Crusades.  Detestation  of  souvenirs  and  ancestor- 
worship  had  not  yet  been  sown  in  their  hearts." 

A  thing  that  produced  still  more  discontent  in  the 
army  was  the  truly  ridiculous  prodigality  with  which 
rank  was  lavished  on  a  few  privileged  persons.  A 
question  of  etiquette,  of  dress,  was  the  first  cause  of 
this  scandal.  Monsieur,  the  King's  brother,  told  the 
Baron  of  VitroUes  one  day,  that  his  sons,  the  princes, 
had  asked  him  to  keep  his  hair  cut  and  not  to  use 
powder.  "  Who  could  have  foreseen,"  adds  the  Baron, 
"  that  the  granting  of  this  request  would  have  impor- 
tant consequences  ?  There  exist  in  nature  no  germs 
so  hidden  as  the  infinitely  small  causes  of  human 
events.  The  result  was,  that  short  and  unpowdered 
hair  precluded  the  use  of  dress  coats  at  court.  Dress 
coats  having  gone,  men  took  to  wearing  uniforms; 
a  uniform  makes  epaulettes  necessary ;  old  men  of 
rank  could  not  be  content  with  the  epaulettes  of  a 
sub-lieutenant ;  so  military  rank  was  demanded,  not 
for  military  services,  but  as  due  to  one's  station  or 
age. 

General  Dupont,  the  Minister  of  War,   and  the 


THE  COUBT  69 


man  who  capitulated  at  Baylen,  was,  according  to  the 
severe  expression  of  M.  de  Vitrolles,  "  the  pander  in 
this  prostitution  of  rank  and  military  crosses."  Dur- 
ing the  exile  the  Bourbons  had  bestowed  neither 
military  rank  nor  promotion.  This  wise  abstention 
was  observed  so  scrupulously  that  in  1814,  when  all 
the  old  general  officers  once  more  appeared  upon  the 
iscene,  there  were  only  three  lieutenant-generals  in 
the  royal  army,  —  MM.  de  Viomesnil,  de  Vaubecourt 
and  de  Bdthisi.  Then  General  Dupont  distributed 
many  promotions  which  were  connected  with  times 
long  gone.  Extreme  confusion  in  all  grades  was  the 
result  of  this.  Louis  XVIII.,  wishing  to  please  the 
army,  had  adopted  military  dress  instead  of  wearing 
the  dress  coat  which  the  kings  of  France  wore  in  all 
the  courts  of  the  last  century.  Following  his  exam- 
ple, every  officer  of  the  court  wanted  a  military 
uniform.  It  was,  as  Marshal  Marmont  observes,  an 
economical  way  of  furnishing  one's  wardrobe.  But, 
as  not  one  of  them  had  been  in  the  service  for  twenty 
years,  each  found  at  first,  that  he  had  only  a  low- 
grade  epaulette  which  he  did  not  deem  in  harmony 
with  the  dignity  with  which  he  had  been  newly 
arrayed.  The  Marquis  of  Dreux-Br^z^,  who  was  only 
a  captain  and  grand  master  of  ceremonies,  had  him- 
self dubbed  a  lieutenant-general,  and  drew  the  salary 
of  a  man  of  that  grade  in  active  service.  M.  Just  de 
Noailles  received  as  his  first  grade,  the  title  of  major- 
general,  when  he  was  sent  as  ambassador  to  Russia. 
Count  Blacas,  opposed  to  this  shameful  distribution 


60  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

of  titles,  had  the  good  taste  repeatedly  to  decline  the 
promotion  with  which  General  Dupont  thought  to 
please  him.  But  the  generality  of  the  court  habitues 
longed  for  braveries  and  big  epaulettes.  The  officers 
of  the  Empire,  who  accepted  without  difficulty  the 
grades  of  the  army  of  Cond^  and  the  army  of  La 
Vendue,  had  no  patience  with  the  court  titles. 

Nevertheless  it  must  be  granted  that  the  task  of 
Louis  XVIII.  was  very  difficult,  and  that  it  would  have 
been  impossible  at  the  same  time  to  please  the  men 
of  the  two  regimes,  who  bore  so  little  resemblance  to 
each  other.  With  the  best  will  in  the  world  Louis 
XVIII.  could  not  make  the  titles  of  the  Empire  as 
old  as  those  of  the  Monarchy.  Napoleon's  marshals 
were  exceedingly  sensitive  in  regard  to  matters  of 
precedence  and  etiquette.  These  parvenus  of  glory 
sometimes  displayed  the  pettiness  of  tradesmen.  In 
the  matter  of  aristocratic  pretensions  they  were  per- 
haps more  touchy  than  the  dowagers  of  the  Faubourg 
Saint-Germain.  Having  been  accustomed  under  the 
Empire  to  lord  it  everywhere,  the  marshals  especially 
desired  to  keep  up  their  splendid  position  at  court. 
The  attitude  of  the  men  of  the  old  regime  disturbed 
them  beyond  measure.  They  took  umbrage  at  every- 
thing. If  one  was  reserved  towards  them,  they 
thought  he  wished  to  keep  them  at  a  distance ;  if 
familiar  with  them,  they  thought  him  lacking  in 
respect.  A  thousand  unbecoming  speeches  that  were 
made  by  the  lords  and  ladies  of  the  court  are  re- 
counted, these  being  either  invented  or  exaggerated. 


THE  COURT  61 


One  of  these  ladies  who,  at  a  gathering  in  the 
Tuileries,  asked  a  stranger  the  name  of  a  beautiful 
woman  who  had  attracted  her  attention,  received  the 
answer :  "  We  don't  know  those  persons ;  they  are 
wives  of  marshals."  An  old-time  duke,  after  a  long 
conversation  with  Marshal  Ney,  is  said  to  have  re- 
marked to  him  in  a  caressing  tone :  "  What  a  pity  it 
is  that  you  have  not,  as  one  of  us,  what  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  give  you !  "  Louis  XVIII.,  who  liked  M.  De- 
cazes  as  much  as  MM.  d'Avaray  and  de  Blacas,  and 
who  set  prodigious  store  by  his  own  claims  to  nobil- 
ity but  cared  little  for  those  of  others,  could  not 
keep  from  smiling  at  dissensions  like  these,  which 
had  their  basis  in  heraldry. 

On  the  whole,  nobody  was  perfectly  satisfied  at 
court  —  neither  the  second-hand  royalists,  as  the  old 
followers  of  Napoleon  were  called,  nor  even  the  true 
royalists,  who  had  always  been  faithful  to  their  cause 
and  to  the  white  flag.  The  men  of  the  Revolution 
and  the  Empire  alwaj'S  wanted  to  be  the  masters. 
As  Madame  de  Stael  says,  many  who  called  them- 
selves patriots  thought  it  strange  that  the  King  did 
not  make  up  his  council  of  men  who  had  judged  and 
condemned  his  brother.  Carnot,  the  mouthpiece  of 
the  malecontents,  said  in  a  lampoon  which  had  a  wide 
circulation  :  "  To-day  if  you  want  to  appear  with  dis- 
tinction at  court,  you  must  be  very  careful  to  keep 
from  saying  that  you  are  one  of  the  twenty-five  mil- 
lions of  citizens  who  so  gallantly  defended  their 
country  against  invasion  by  enemies ;  for  you  will  be 


62  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

told  that  those  twenty-five  million  pretended  citizens 
were  twenty-five  million  rebels,  and  that  those  pre- 
tended enemies  were  always  friends.  Say  that  you 
were  lucky  enough  to  be  a  Chouan  or  a  Vend<)an, 
a  refugee  or  a  Cossack  or  an  Englishman,  or  that 
though  you  remained  in  France,  you  sought  place 
under  the  governments  that  preceded  the  Restoration 
only  that  you  might  the  better  betray  them,  and  then 
your  fidelity  will  be  lauded  to  the  skies,  and  you  will 
receive  delicate  congratulations,  decorations,  and 
touching  responses  from  the  whole  royal  family." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  old  legitimists,  the  parti- 
sans of  the  throne  and  altar,  said  to  themselves : 
"  Was  it  worth  while  to  suffer  so  much  merely  that 
we  might  be  present  at  the  spectacle  that  we  wit- 
nessed on  the  very  day  of  our  triumph,  —  that  day 
so  long  and  so  impatiently  expected  ?  We  who  so 
ardently  desired  the  Restoration  at  bivouacs  of  the 
army  of  Conde  and  amid  the  woes  and  humiliations 
of  exile,  —  were  we  dreaming  of  such  things  ?  Could 
we  ever  have  believed  that  the  escorts  of  our  kings 
would  be  made  up  of  coryphees  of  the  Revolution,  of 
the  satellites  of  Bonaparte?  One  would  have  said 
that  it  was  we  who  had  been  defeated.  What !  we 
cannot  even  make  the  Jacobin  spoliators  disgorge? 
We  must  not  recover  the  so-called  national  property, 
which  is  our  property,  precisely  as  the  throne  is  the 
property  of  the  King.  With  what  are  we  reproached? 
With  having  emigrated.  But  did  not  the  King  and 
the  princes  emigrate  also?  Was  not  emigration  a 
duty  that  we  owed  to  honor  and  fidelity?    Bonaparte 


THE  COURT  63 


may  be  excused  for  making  us  suffer  for  it,  but  it  is 
absurd  and  intolerable  that  Bourbons  should  bring 
it  as  an  accusation  against  us.  Did  we  impose  upon 
ourselves  so  many  privations,  so  many  sacrifices,  that 
we  might  put  heart  into  Jacobins,  butchers,  and 
thieves  ?  Should  not  the  day  of  the  King's  return 
have  been  the  end  of  our  misfortunes?  We  have 
suffered,  —  should  we  not  share  in  the  triumph  ? 
True,  we  receive  a  few  barren  honors,  a  few  court 
positions,  but  to  whom  go  the  real  offices — those 
that  give  power?  Who  is  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  ?  A  bishop  whose  so-called  wife  is  his  con- 
cubine. Who  is  Minister  of  Finance?  A  married 
priest.  Who  is  Minister  of  War  ?  One  of  Napoleon's 
generals.  Who  are  installed  in  the  prefectures  and 
military  commands?  Republicans,  Bonapartists.  It 
is  they  who  receive  every  trust,  every  employment, 
every  favor.  It  is  we  who  are  deceived  and  morti- 
fied, and  ours  is  the  ridicule  of  having  expected  so 
much  from  a  government  that  treats  us  so  badly  I 
We  were  better  off  at  Coblentz,  since  at  Coblentz 
we  had  illusions  which  here  we  have  no  longer. 
There  are  times  when  we  have  to  look  back  with 
longing  even  to  the  days  of  our  exile.  What  we  see 
is  no  true  Restoration ;  it  is  a  prolongation,  or,  rather, 
a  parody,  of  the  Revolution  and  the  Empire." 

Such  was  the  language  of  extremists  on  both  sides, 
and  to  look  at  a  court  apparently  so  calm,  so  united, 
and  so  well  disciplined,  no  one  would  have  suspected 
the  intrigues,  jealousies,  dissensions,  and  passions  that 
were  hidden  within  it. 


VII 


THE  CITY 


WE  have  just  taken  a  view  of  the  court,  and 
now  let  us  cast  a  glance  at  the  city.  Paris 
was  quiet  enough  at  the  beginning  of  the  Restora- 
tion. After  so  much  commotion  and  disturbance  the 
masses  were  well  pleased  to  have  a  little  repose. 
When  they  thought  of  their  children,  mothers  espe- 
cially were  delighted  at  the  return  of  peace. 

Tradesmen  favored  the  Bourbons,  and  the  people 
were  not  hostile  to  them.  Commerce  and  industry 
began  to  look  up,  and,  to  judge  from  the  general 
feeling  of  the  city  when  the  allied  troops  had  de- 
parted, one  would  say  that  it  was  entirely  normal. 

Some  salons  were  open  once  more,  but  as  spring 
was  not  then  the  fashionable  season,  there  were  very- 
few  fetes.  Moreover,  it  required  some  time  for  soci- 
ety in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  to  reassume  its 
splendor.  In  the  words  of  Madame  de  Stael,  very 
few  agreeable  members  of  the  old  regime  were  in 
Paris,  for  the  aged  were  for  the  most  part  broken 
down  through  long-continued  misfortunes  or  soured 
by  inveterate  indignation.  The  nobles  who  returned 
from  exile  were  like  shipwrecked  sailors  cast  on  the 
64 


THE  CITV  65 

shore  and  still  bewildered  by  the  storm.  Such  as 
had  been  courtiers  of  Napoleon,  and  who  but  a  short 
time  before  had  frequented  his  house  or  that  of  the 
Empress  Marie  Louise,  hoped  to  have  their  genuflec- 
tions before  the  imperial  throne  pardoned,  should  they 
be  royalists  for  a  few  weeks.  If  they  were  to  justify 
their  sudden  change,  they  must  call  the  Emperor 
"  Buonaparte  '*  an  appreciable  number  of  times. 

On  the  other  hand,  all  were  not  of  one  mind 
in  that  society  which  called  itself  well  disposed. 
Some  people  favored  the  charter;  others  opposed  it. 
Liberal  monarchists  were  continually  criticised  at 
court  by  legitimists  more  royalist  than  the  King. 
Nobles  might  be  met  with  who  in  their  own  minds 
looked  upon  Louis  XVIII.  as  a  revolutionist,  not  to 
say  a  crowned  Jacobin,  because  he  had  been  impru- 
dent enough  to  give  his  people  their  rights.  "  Par- 
bleu  !  "  said  an  old  soldier  of  the  army  of  Cond^  to 
Count  de  Puymaigre,  "the  King  is  reallj^  kind  to 
bother  himself  so  much  about  his  charter.  In  order 
to  put  a  stop  to  all  our  disputes  I  would  have  only 
one  law,  with  two  sections."  —  "  Ah  !  that's  singular ; 
and  what  would  your  two  sections  be  ?  "  "  Well ! 
the  first  would  run  as  follows :  '  Everything  is  re-es- 
tablished in  France  just  as  it  was  on  the  13th  of  July, 
1789.' ''  —  "  And  the  second  ?  "  "  The  second  ?  It  is 
even  simpler :  '  My  ministers  of  war,  of  the  interior, 
of  finance,  etc.,  are  charged  with  the  execution  of  the 
above  ordinance.' " 

"  And  this  man,"  M.  de  Puymaigre  adds,  "  was  not 


66  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

lacking  in  intelligence;  but  he  was  fixed  in  one 
idea,  and  thought  that  nothing  had  undergone  any 
change." 

Salons  in  which  such  subjects  were  daily  mooted 
could  not  have  been  very  agreeable  to  men  of  the 
Revolution  and  the  Empire.  In  the  words  of  Ma- 
dame de  Stael :  "  A  society  as  insipid  as  this  was 
regarded,  however,  with  strange  jealousy  by  many  of 
Napoleon's  old  courtiers,  and,  like  Samson,  they  would 
willingly  have  used  their  mighty  hands  to  pull  down 
the  edifice,  if  so  they  might  ruin  the  hall  of  feasting 
which  they  might  not  enter." 

Among  the  salons  famous  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Restoration  were  those  of  the  Duchess  of  Duras, 
Madame  de  Stael,  and  Madame  de  R^camier.  M.  de 
Chateaubriand  and  his  admirers  frequented  that  of 
the  duchess.  Madame  de  Stael,  always  independent, 
and  a  furious  enemy  of  Napoleon,  though  enthusiastic 
for  Louis  XVIII.,  held  a  liberal  salon.  That  of 
Madame  de  Rdcamier,  who  was,  above  all,  a  pretty 
woman,  was  eclectic.  Mathieu  de  Montmorency, 
who  became  gentleman-in-waiting  to  the  Duchess  of 
AngoulSme,  was  often  there,  and  was  one  of  the  chief 
admirers  of  the  mistress  of  the  house. 

There  also  might  be  seen  a  friend  of  Madame 
R^camier's  childhood  days,  Madame  Moreau,  the 
widow  of  the  conqueror  at  Hohenlinden,  and  the  wife 
of  Bernadotte  when  he  became  Prince  Royal  of  Swe- 
den. After  the  death  of  her  husband,  who  was  struck 
by  a  French  bullet  while  in  the  Russian  army.  Ma* 


MME.   DE    R^CAMIER 


THE   CITY  67 

dame  Moreau  received  from  the  Emperor  Alexander  a 
pension  of  a  hundred  thousand  francs.  Louis  XVIII. 
offered  her  the  title  of  duchess ;  she  refused  it,  and 
would  accept  only  such  dignity  as  would  have  been 
her  husband's  had  he  been  alive  in  1814.  The  title 
"Mardchale  de  France"  was  bestowed  on  her.  She 
is,  we  think,  the  only  woman  who  ever  received  that 
designation.  Madame  Bernadotte,  or  rather  the  Prin- 
cess Royal  of  Sweden,  who  in  France  bore  the  title 
of  Countess  of  Gothland,  had  come  to  live  at  Paris 
after  some  experience  of  the  climate  of  her  future 
kingdom. 

To  sum  the  whole  matter  up,  the  ways  of  the 
world  were  not  as  yet  greatly  changed.  The  appear- 
ance of  Paris  had  undergone  but  few  modifications. 
The  attendance  at  theatres,  caf^s,  and  on  the  prom- 
enades, was  as  large  as  it  had  been  before.  The 
galleries  of  the  Palais-Royal  were  still  a  hotbed  of 
corruption.  The  populace  was  neither  more  nor  less 
moral  under  the  Kingdom,  than  it  had  been  under 
the  Empire,  and  the  inhabitants  were  not  sensibly 
altered. 

However,  two  new  elements  might  be  observed  in 
Paris,  —  oflSce-seekers  from  the  provinces  and  half- 
pay  officers.  Both  should  be  carefully  examined  if 
one  would  have  a  correct  idea  of  the  appearance  of 
the  capital.  It  swarmed  with  a  host  of  people  who 
might  be  called  honorable  mendicants.  Every  small 
country  squire  innocently  imagined  that  for  him 
Paris  was  a  land  of  promise,  where  all  his  dreams 


68       THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUhtME 

would  be  turned  into  realities.  Chouans  covered 
with  scars,  Venddans  reduced  to  penury,  poverty- 
stricken  imigrSi  unable  to  find  either  their  former 
dwellings  or  their  families,  passing  before  their  old 
fields,  now  furrowed  by  alien  ploughs,  and  eating  the 
bread  of  charity  at  the  doors  of  their  former  homes, 
—  all  had  hoped  that  the  Restoration  would  be  for 
them  a  golden  age  at  the  end  of  an  age  of  iron. 
They  assailed  the  ministers  with  requests  of  all 
sorts.  Representatives  of  the  camp  of  Jalds  came 
in  the  costume  of  their  province  and  period.  The 
streets  thronged  with  these  old  SmigrSs  whom  the 
officers  called  Louis  XIV.'s  light-infantry.  These 
relics  of  a  former  time  might  be  seen  strutting  about 
in  blue  coats  with  two  fleur-de-lis  embroidered  on 
the  collar,  a  frill,  a  sword  worn  at  right  angles  with 
the  body,  and  small  epaulettes  which  looked  like  sword 
knots  cut  in  two.  All  these  poor  legitimists,  thread- 
bare in  their  convictions  as  in  their  coats,  came  to 
the  city  filled  with  co'nfidence.  What  illusions  did 
they  not  create  for  themselves  !  It  is  in  the  nature 
of  modern  monarchies  that  they  should  coquette  with 
their  enemies  rather  than  their  defenders.  They  say 
to  themselves  about  their  most  ardent  partisans : 
What  is  the  use  of  paying  particular  attention  to 
them?  We  shall  always  be  sure  of  them,  —  and 
then  they  lavish  their  favors  on  persons  who  owe 
their  success  solely  to  the  swiftness  of  their  conver- 
sion, and  to  their  cynical  recantations.  The  unfortu- 
nate legitimists  were  soon  called  upon  to  meditate 


THE  CITY  G9 


on  a  caricature  which  represented  the  King  as  hold- 
ing out  his  hand  to  the  Bonapartists  and  saying  to 
them :  "  Union,"  and  turning  his  back  on  the  Ven- 
ddans,  whom  he  seemed  to  dismiss  with  a  disdainful 
gesture,  while  the  motto  written  for  them  was : 
"  Forgotten." 

M.  de  Vitrolles  himself,  ardent  a  royalist  as  he 
was,  and  favorite  of  Charles  X.  as  he  was  to  become, 
was  the  first  to  amuse  himself  with  certain  defenders 
of  the  throne  and  altar,  and  to  speak  ironically  of  the 
deluge  of  petitions,  a  few  of  which  had  some  basis  of 
right,  but  most  of  which  were  inadmissible  or  extrav- 
agant. He  tells  how,  one  day,  the  Minister  of 
Marine,  Baron  Malouet,  came  to  the  Council  with  a 
number  of  petitions  and,  among  them,  that  of  an 
old  naval  officer  who  asked  for  the  rank  of  a  rear- 
admiral.  The  petitioner  established  his  rights  in 
this  way.  In  1789,  he  had  been  a  cadet  in  the  navy, 
and  so  the  crime  of  having  served  the  Revolution 
could  not  be  imputed  to  him.  He  calculated  that  if 
he  had  remained  in  the  service,  and  without  refer- 
ence being  had  to  the  extraordinary  promotions 
which  he  would  have  been  sure  to  obtain,  he  would 
by  this  time,  if  only  through  seniority,  have  risen  to 
the  rank  of  rear-admiral,  a  grade  which  he  claimed 
from  the  justice  of  the  King.  "What  shall  I  tell 
him?"  asked  M.  Malouet.  "It  seems  to  me," 
replied  M.  de  Vitrolles,  "that  you  may  perfectly 
well  admit  all  this  gentleman's  logic  and  even  the 
conclusions  he  draws  with  it,  as  well  as  his  rights  in 


70  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

the  matter ;  but  you  should  add  that  he  has  forgotten 
just  one  essential  fact,  which  is,  that  he  was  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Tiafalgar."  King  and  courtiers 
bui-st  out  laughing,  and  the  petition  was  thrown  into 
the  waste-paper  basket. 

Apropos  of  such  requests,  Louis  XVIII.  used  to 
say,  by  way  of  joke  that  in  the  Spectator  Addison 
had  told  the  story  of  a  pronounced  Tory  who,  on  the 
accession  of  Charles  II.  to  the  throne,  solicited  a 
place  in  the  King's  household,  on  the  ground  that  he 
had  betrayed  the  wife  of  one  of  the  opponents  of 
the  Stuarts.  Louis  XVIII.,  who  was  sly,  was  even 
the  collaborator  of  M.  de  Vitrolles  and  M.  de  Jouy 
in  a  certain  anonymous  satirical  article  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Journal  des  DShats  on  the  29th  of 
May  and  the  2d  of  June,  to  the  great  disgust  of  more 
than  one  royalist.  It  was  called :  Lettres  du  Cousin 
et  de  la  Cousine.  "  How  happy  I  am,  my  friend," 
wrote  the  lady,  "  in  the  events  that  bring  our  illustri- 
ous princes  back  to  the  throne.  What  good  for- 
tune !  You  have  no  idea  of  the  confidence  which 
these  events  and  your  sojourn  at  Paris  give  me  here. 
The  prefect  is  afraid  of  me,  and  his  wife,  who  had 
never  before  noticed  me,  has  invited  me  twice  to 
dinner.  But  we  must  lose  no  time,  and  we  count  on 
you.  Would  you  believe  it  possible  that  as  yet  my 
husband  has  not  taken  a  single  step  to  have  himself 
re-instated  in  his  old  place,  on  the  pretext  that  the 
place  no  longer  exists,  and  that  he  has  been  reim- 
bursed for  his  office  in  assignats.     He  is  the  most 


THE  CITY  71 

apathetic  man  in  France.  My  brother-in-law  has 
received  his  cross  of  Saint  Louis.  He  was  not  over 
nine  years  old  when  the  Revolution  broke  out.  It 
wouldn't  have  been  right  for  them  to  refuse  to  add 
to  the  number  of  his  services  the  twenty  years  of 
trouble  and  misfortune  that  he  had  spent  on  his 
estate." 

Then  the  lady  mentioned  her  prot^g^s  to  her 
influential  cousin :  "  You  remember  poor  N.  .  .  .  He 
really  was  noted  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution ;  but, 
on  my  word,  it  is  a  full  month  since  he  recanted ! 
You  know  that  he  is  penniless,  and  that  he  is  ready 
to  sacrifice  his  all  for  our  masters.  His  devotion  to 
them  leads  him  to  desire  the  office  of  a  prefect,  for 
the  duties  of  which  he  is  well  fitted.  You  remember 
the  pretty  song  he  composed  for  me.  ...  I  must  not 
forget  to  recommend  B.  to  you.  .  .  .  He  is  accused 
of  having  served  all  parties  because  he  was  employed 
by  all  the  governments  which  have  succeeded  each 
other  in  France  during  the  last  twenty  years ;  but, 
believe  me,  he  is  a  good  fellow ;  he  was  the  first  per- 
son here  to  don  the  white  cockade.  Besides,  he  only 
wants  to  keep  his  place  as  postmaster.  Be  careful 
to  write  to  me  under  cover  to  him." 

The  cousin's  answer,  in  which  is  shown  all  the 
caustic  verve  of  the  sovereign  whom  Talleyrand 
called  the  "  roi  nichard"  is  a  small  masterpiece  of 
witty  malice.  "You  cannot  think,  my  dear  cousin, 
with  how  much  interest  I  read  the  letter  you  did  me 
the  honor  to  write,  and  how  anxious  I  have  been  to 


72  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 


further  the  interests  —  interests  so  just  and  so  legiti- 
mate —  of  everybody  you  recommend  to  me.  You 
will  not  be  more  astonished  than  I  was  at  the 
obstacles  that  stood  in  ray  way,  and  which  you 
would  deem  insurmountable  if  you  did  not  know 
as  well  as  I  the  people  with  whom  we  have  to  deal. 
When  I  spoke  of  your  eldest  son,  who  always  wished 
to  enter  the  army,  and  when  I  asked  that  he  should 
be  appointed  major  of  the  regiment  in  which  his 
father  formerly  served,  I  was  met  with  the  objection 
—  as  if  it  had  any  weight !  —  that  we  are  now  at 
peace,  and  that  before  thinking  of  making  an  officer 
of  M.  de  S.  F.,  provision  would  have  to  be  made  for 
twenty-five  thousand  officers,  some  of  whom  — 
would  you  believe  it? — had  taken  advantage  of 
their  campaigns,  and  their  scars,  and  even  gone  so 
far  as  to  base  their  claims  on  the  score  of  the  battles 
in  which  they  had  fought,  while  the  rest,  who  were 
more  closely  associated  with  the  misfortunes  of  the 
royal  family,  had  come  back  to  France  with  no 
other  prospects  than  the  favors  and  promises  of  the 
King.  I  inquired,  with  some  heat,  what  they 
intended  to  do  for  your  son  and  the  host  of  royalists 
who  had  grieved  in  secret  over  the  woes  of  the  State, 
and  had  always  desired  the  return  of  the  Bourbons 
to  the  throne  of  their  ancestors.  The  answer  was 
that  they  would  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  their 
misfortunes  ended  and  their  desires  accomplished." 

So  there  is  little  hope  for  the  prot^g^s  of  the  lady. 
In  fact,  her  cousin  gives  her  very  little  encourage- 


THE  CITY  73 

ment.  "  I  am  sorry,"  he  adds,  "  that  your  brother-in- 
law  regained  the  cross  of  Saint  Louis  before  he  had 
ever  worn  it;  for  it  is  possible  that  the  King  would 
not  have  relinquished  the  right  to  confer  it  him- 
self or  recognized  the  justice  which  certain  persons 
are  bent  on  doing  to  themselves.  I  presented  a 
petition  in  favor  of  N.,  at  the  end  of  which  I  had 
inserted  the  little  song  that  he  made  for  you,  but 
they  insisted  very  strongly  upon  it  that  such  things 
were  not  sufficient  to  entitle  a  man  even  to  an  insig- 
nificant prefecture." 

And  the  cousin  comes  to  the  following  mournful 
conclusion :  "  The  upshot,  my  dear  cousin,  is,  you 
see,  that  you  must  arm  yourself  with  patience.  I 
will  even  say  that  it  is  to  be  feared  that  your  pro- 
posed visit  to  Paris  will  not  greatly  expedite  mat- 
ters. At  the  time  when  I  am  writing  to  you  there 
are  a  hundred  and  twenty-three  thousand  provincials 
of  every  class  and  age  and  of  both  sexes  on  the 
police  lists,  who  have  come  here  to  prefer  claims, 
armed  with  titles  nearly  as  unquestionable  as  yours 
and  having  an  inestimable  advantage  over  you  in  the 
fact  that  their  claims  were  put  in  before  yours." 

And  the  unfortunate  legitimists  were  sad  at  heart 
over  this  satirical  piece  of  work  which  was  due  to 
the  witty  collaboration  of  the  King,  M.  de  Vitrolles, 
and  M.  de  Jouy.  "What's  this?"  they  cried. 
"  The  Restoration  does  nothing  in  our  behalf.  It  is 
powerless  to  mend  the  evils  we  have  endured  for  it, 
and  yet  it  permits  us  to  be  publicly  insulted  in  news- 
papers which  it  ought  to  suppress  I  " 


74  TUE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

Demands,  however,  continued  to  pour  in  in  num- 
bers not  less  than  fabulous.  "On  the  day  of  the 
downfall  of  Bonaparte,"  says  Madame  de  Stael, 
"  they  were  as  busy  all  over  France  as  at  Paris,  and 
at  Paris  there  were  thousands  of  people  asking  the 
government  for  money  and  places  of  all  sorts.  How 
incredible  is  the  madness  of  the  desire  for  power! 
The  first  article  in  'the  rights  of  man'  in  France  is 
that  every  Frenchman  shall  have  public  employment. 
The  importunate  class  do  not  know  how  to  live  save 
on  government  money.  No  industry  or  business 
could  make  life  tolerable  to  them."  But  among 
these  importunate  persons  how  many  interesting 
people  there  were !  Of  how  many  thousands  of 
employees  of  all  sorts,  custom-house  officials,  asses- 
sors of  taxes,  police  officers,  and  departmental 
functionaries  was  not  France  left  bereft  who,  having 
neither  salary  nor  asylum,  died  of  starvation  in  Paris, 
together  with  their  wives  and  children  ! 

The  most  dangerous,  bold,  and  popular  of  the  male- 
contents  were  the  half-pay  officers,  the  former  con- 
querors of  Europe,  now  much  astonished  at  finding 
themselves  conquered.  Can  one  not  see  them  stroll- 
ing about  in  civilian  dress,  but  always  with  a  mili- 
tary look,  gait,  and  manner  of  speech,  with  an  aspect 
fierce  in  spite  of  their  misfortunes,  a  bitter  smile  on 
their  lips,  felt  hats  on  their  heads,  and  walking-sticks 
in  their  hands  ?  Can  you  not  see,  can  you  not  hear, 
them  at  the  Palais-Royal,  on  the  Boulevard  des 
Italieus,  in  the  cafds,  sneering  at  men  and  things, 


THE  CITY  75 

railing  pitilessly  at  everybody  and  everything  except 
the  Emperor  and  the  Empire,  making  merry  over  the 
impotent  Louis  XVIII.  and  his  well-known  infirmi- 
ties, and  treating  as  renegades  and  traitors  the  mar- 
shals and  generals  who  throng  the  antechambers  of 
the  King  and  his  ministers  ? 

The  Duchess  of  Abrantds  tells  us  that  one  morn- 
ing five  persons  gravely  entered  Tortoni's  and  seated 
themselves  at  a  table.  They  called  for  the  bill  of  fare 
and  looked  around  disdainfully,  without  seeming  to 
pay  any  attention  to  the  surrounding  company,  which 
laughed  at  the  strangeness  of  their  clothes  and  gen- 
eral appearance.  They  were  all  dressed  alike,  in 
little  threadbare  coats,  half-gilt  epaulettes  of  mari- 
gold color,  short  breeches,  checkered  hose,  small  hats, 
and  long  swords  worn  diagonally  across  their  coat- 
skirts.  After  a  long  time  spent  in  poring  over  the 
landlord's  bill  of  fare,  these  grave  personages  ended 
by  calling  for  a  cutlet  for  five.  The  waiter  looked  at 
them  in  total  bewilderment.  The  cutlet  was  brought, 
and  they  breakfasted  on  it,  accompanying  their  repast 
with  conversation  as  singular  as  their  appearance. 
These  five  self-styled  emigres  were  officers  in  disguise, 
and  among  them  was  the  future  general  de  Lawce- 
stine,  an  ardent  Bonapartist  in  spite  of  his  old-time 
name  and  his  title  of  Marquis.  Jests  and  pleasan- 
tries from  the  barracks  are  the  prelude  to  military 
sedition.  It  will  not  be  long  before  the  half-pay 
officers  will  enter  the  Tuileries  as  conquerors  and 
replace  the  tricolor  on  the  Pavilion  of  the  Horloge. 


VIII 


THE  KING 


WE  have  just  cast  a  rapid  glance  at  the  court 
and  the  city.  Let  us  now  endeavor  to  draw 
a  picture  of  the  King,  the  royal  family,  and  the 
princes  of  the  blood.  We  shall  begin  with  Louis 
XVIII.,  whose  personal  appearance,  character,  and 
habits  we  wish  to  describe  accurately.  We  shall  ask 
ourselves  these  questions :  Was  Louis  XVIII.  relig- 
ious ?  Was  he  moral  ?  Was  he  good  ?  Was  he  intel- 
ligent ?  Was  he  able  ?  and  we  shall  answer  by  draw- 
ing the  elements  of  our  response  from  the  memoirs 
of  men  who  knew  the  King  exceedingly  well.  We 
think  that  their  testimony,  when  grouped  and  com- 
pared, will  enable  us  to  arrive  at  the  truth  and  paint 
a  true  instead  of  an  imaginative  picture. 

Lamartine,  whose  magic  pen  embellishes  beyond 
measure  all  that  he  writes  about,  has  displayed  Louis 
XVIII.'s  personal  appearance  in  colors  which,  in  our 
opinion,  are  too  brilliant.  The  poet  more  than  ideal- 
izes the  King.  "In  studying  him,"  says  he,  "one 
could  not  fail  to  admire  him.  .  .  .  His  large  eyes  of 
celestial  blue,  with  sockets  oval  at  the  bend  and  high 
at  the  top,  were  luminous,  sparkling,  liquid,  and 
76 


THE  KING  n 


frank.  The  nose  was  aquiline,  as  it  always  is  among 
the  Bourbons ;  his  lips  were  usually  slightly  parted, 
his  mouth  smiling  and  refined,  and  his  cheeks  full, 
though  their  fulness  did  not  efface  the  delicacy  of 
their  outlines  and  the  suppleness  of  their  muscles. 
A  healthy  complexion  and  the  vivid  freshness  of 
youth  tinged  his  face.  In  beauty  the  features  were 
those  of  Louis  XV.,  but  they  were  illuminated  by 
larger  intelligence  and  a  more  concentrated  power  of 
thought  in  the  whole  countenance.  Even  majesty 
was  not  lacking  to  them;  his  physiognomy  spoke, 
questioned,  answered,  controlled." 

And  the  singer  of  the  "  Harmonies  "  adds  in  his 
customary  lyric  way:  "In  whatever  aspect  one  re- 
garded that  presence,  thoughtful  and  self-contained, 
dominating  yet  sweet,  severe  yet  attractive,  one 
would  not  have  said :  '  He's  a  sage,  he's  a  states- 
man, he's  a  pontiff,  he's  a  legislator,  he's  a  con- 
queror,' for  his  natural  repose  and  quiet  majesty 
removed  all  likeness  to  such  professions,  which  make 
the  face  pale  and  the  features  sunken  ;  one  would 
have  said :  '  He  is  a  king !  but  he  is  a  king  who  has 
not  yet  experienced  the  cares  and  the  fatigues  of  the 
throne.' " 

M.  de  Lamartine  began  his  career  as  a  member  of 
Louis  XVin.'s  body-guard.  The  founder  of  the 
second  republic  was  then  an  enthusiastic  royalist. 
When,  in  his  old  age,  he  evoked  the  image  of  the 
King  of  his  early  days,  he  became  a  royalist  again 
for  a   moment,   and    his    imagination   called    up  a 


78  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

Louis  XVIII.  handsomer  than  the  reality.  In  1814 
republicans  and  Bonapartists  regarded  the  King  in 
an  utterly  different  light.  The  prince  whom  the 
royalists  found  so  majestic,  appeared  to  their  vision 
as  a  gouty  old  man,  dressed  in  superannuated  clothes, 
awkward  in  carriage,  without  prestige,  and  almost 
ridiculous. 

In  our  opinion  the  truth  lies  between  these  two 
exaggerations.  Without  being  so  handsome  as  his 
admirers  said  it  was,  the  physiognomy  of  Louis 
XVIII.  was  both  charming  and  dignified.  His  coun- 
tenance was  animated,  his  mouth  refined,  his  voice 
sonorous,  and  his  movements  symmetrical.  Born  on 
the  17th  of  November,  1755,  he  was  fifty-eight  years 
old  at  the  outset  of  the  Restoration.  His  body,  borne 
down  by  infirmities,  and  especially  by  gout,  was  that 
of  an  aged  man,  but  his  face  still  retained  something 
of  youth.  We  do  not  think  that  Lamartine  exagger- 
ates when  he  thus  expresses  himself :  "  One  would 
say  that  time,  exile,  fatigues,  infirmities,  and  his 
unwieldy  obesity  had  attacked  his  feet  and  body  only 
to  bring  out  more  fully  by  contrast  the  perennial  and 
vigorous  youthfulness  of  his  face."  Marshal  Mar- 
mont,  who  is  harsh  rather  than  sympathetic  when 
speaking  of  the  King,  says :  "  There  was  something 
winning  in  his  manners,  gracious  in  his  way  of  speak- 
ing, alluring  in  his  words,  and  strong  and  authorita- 
tive in  his  whole  aspect.  I  have  never  met  it  to  the 
same  degree  in  anybody  else." 

We   think   M.   de   Vitrolles   equally  right  when 


THE  KING  79 


he  says  of  Louis  XVIII. :  "  The  noble  expression  of 
his  features,  Ids  beautiful  and  sonorous  voice,  and  his 
whole  regal  appearance  commanded  respect  in  spite 
of  his  ill-proportioned  figure.  Even  the  disadvan- 
tages under  which  he  labored  by  reason  of  his  infirm- 
ities, the  difficulty  with  which  he  walked  and  his  ex- 
cessive fatness,  seemed  to  give  a  sort  of  dignity  to  his 
person.  He  knew  how  to  make  them  nobler  than 
grace  and  agility.  In  the  eyes  of  men  who  had  been 
attached  to  the  hardy  chieftain  who  but  lately  had 
dominated  France,  he  was  in  strong  contrast  with 
their  old  leader."  As  M.  Thiers  says  in  his  account 
of  the  formal  entry  of  the  King  into  Paris :  "  However 
much  enamoured  of  peace  he  may  have  been,  as  every- 
body was  at  that  time,  one  could  not  help  regretting 
that  the  prince  who  had  been  recalled  to  govern  France 
was  unable  to  mount  a  horse,  and  public  fancy  natu- 
rally reverted  to  a  picture,  reproduced  at  the  time,  of 
an  aged  father  coming  in,  surrounded  by  his  chil- 
dren." 

Obliged  by  his  infirmities  to  remain  constantly 
seated  in  an  armchair,  Louis  XVIII.  was  artist 
enough  to  make  the  chair  a  sort  of  throne.  I  see  him 
gravely  installed  there,  in  clothes  half-military  and 
half-civilian.  He  wanted  to  wear  boots,  for  a  king  is 
a  general,  and  a  general  should  be  booted.  But  leather 
boots  hurt  his  legs,  which  were  gouty.  So  he  had  to 
be  content  with  velvet  boots  reaching  to  his  knees. 
He  never  laid  his  sword  aside,  even  in  his  armchair, 
for  a  sword  is  the  distinctive  sign  of  a  nobleman, 


80  TEE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

and  the  Most  Christian  King  is  the  first  nobleman 
not  only  in  France  and  Navarre,  but  in  the  whole 
world.  His  breast  is  covered  with  heraldic  orders. 
The  blue  cordon  of  the  Holy  Ghost  stands  out  in  re- 
lief on  his  white  waistcoat.  His  blue  coat  is  neither 
civilian  dress  nor  uniform.  Two  small  golden  epau- 
lettes glitter  on  his  shoulders  to  remind  people  of 
the  military  nature  of  kingship.  His  hair,  dressed 
with  white  powder  according  to  the  old  fashion,  and 
crimped  at  the  temples  by  the  barber's  curling-irons, 
is  brought  together  at  the  nape  of  the  neck  and 
bound  with  a  black  silk  ribbon  that  falls  down  over 
the  collar.  A  three-cornered  hat,  adorned  with  a 
cockade  and  a  small  white  plume,  is  now  on  the  mon- 
arch's knees  and  now  in  his  hand.  His  entire  costume, 
reminding  one  of  two  different  eras,  is  at  one  and  the 
same  time  that  of  a  man  of  the  court  of  Versailles 
and  that  of  a  man  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

After  having  examined  Louis  XVHI.'s  personal 
appearance,  let  us  examine  his  character  and  bring 
forward  the  questions  mentioned  at  the  opening  of 
the  present  chapter.  Was  Louis  XVHI.  religious? 
Although  he  showed  himself  respectful  toward  the 
faith  of  his  fathers  both  in  speech  and  act,  the  author 
of  the  GSnie  du  Christianisme  represents  him  as  a 
sceptic ;  Chateaubriand  says :  "  Affected  with  the 
spirit  of  his  time,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  to  the  Most 
Christian  King  religion  was  only  an  elixir  fit  for 
use  in  compounding  the  drugs  that  go  to  make 
up  royalty."     Enthusiastic  royalists  and  ultra-Cath- 


rilK  KING  81 

olics  accused  Louis  XVIII.  of  being  at  bottom  a 
Voltairian.  It  is  not  necessary  to  penetrate  into 
the  recesses  of  his  soul  and  determine  the  extent 
of  his  religious  faith.  But  it  should  be  said  that  he 
believed  in  the  necessary  connection  of  the  throne 
and  altar,  that  he  went  to  Mass  not  only  on  Sunday, 
but  on  every  other  day  of  the  week,  that  he  showed 
great  respect  for  the  clergy,  that  he  would  allow  of 
no  jest  at  religion  in  his  presence,  and  that  he  died  a 
very  good  Christian. 

Was  Louis  XVIII.  moral?  He  was  less  devoted 
to  women  than  his  predecessors.  Let  us  listen  to 
Chateaubriand,  who  was  so  enthusiastic  in  his  sub- 
ventioned  writings  and  so  caustic  in  his  Memoires 
cC Outre- Tomhe :  "The  libertine  imagination  that  he 
inherited  from  his  grandfather,"  says  he  of  Louis 
XVIII.,  "  must  have  aroused  some  distrust  in  regard 
to  his  exploits ;  but  he  understood  himself  and,  when 
he  made  positive  affirmations,  he  laughed  at  himself 
for  the  boasting  he  was  doing.  One  day  I  spoke  to 
him  of  the  necessity  of  a  new  marriage  for  the  Duke 
of  Bourbon  in  order  to  restore  the  race  of  the  Condds 
to  life.  He  strongly  approved  of  the  idea  although 
he  did  not  trouble  himself  about  the  said  resur- 
rection. But  apropos  of  the  subject,  he  mentioned 
the  Count  of  Artois,  and  said :  '  My  brother  might 
remarry  and  still  not  change  the  royal  succession; 
he  could  beget  only  younger  sons ;  as  to  myself, 
all  who  might  be  begotten  by  me  would  be  eldest 
sons  ;   I  do  not  choose   to    disinherit   the   Duke   of 


82  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

AngoulSme.'  He  bridled  up  with  an  air  of  whim- 
sical importance,  but  I  did  not  pretend  to  deny  any 
sort  of  ability  to  the  King." 

To  sum  up,  perhaps  there  was  not  much  merit 
in  the  tranquil  life  led  by  Louis  XVIII.,  but  it 
is  certain  that  in  the  early  times  of  the  Restoration 
the  general  appearance  of  the  court  was  rather 
austere  than  lively.  There  was  as  yet  no  question 
of  a  favorite. 

Was  Louis  XVIII.  kind  and  good?  Opinion  is 
divided  as  to  this.  Let  us  see  how  Chateaubriand 
contradicts  himself.  What  does  he  say  in  one  of  his 
perfunctory  writings :  Le  roi  est  Mort,  vive  le  Roi? 
"  In  the  presence  of  Louis  XVIII.  one  had  feelings 
of  mingled  confidence  and  respect.  The  benevolence 
of  his  heart  was  shown  in  what  he  said ;  the  great- 
ness of  his  race  appeared  in  his  aspect.  Indul- 
gent and  generous,  he  reassured  those  who  might 
accuse  themselves  of  wrongdoing;  ever  calm  and 
reasonable,  one  might  tell  him  everything,  for  he 
could  understand  everything."  And  how  does  the 
isame  writer  speak  in  regard  to  the  King  in  his 
MSmoires  d^  Outre- Tombe  f  "  An  egotist  and  without 
prejudices,  Louis  XVIII.  wanted  peace  at  any  price. 
He  upheld  his  ministers  as  long  as  they  were 
with  the  majority;  he  dismissed  them  as  soon  as 
that  majority  began  to  totter  and  his  repose  might 
be  disturbed !  He  did  not  hesitate  to  draw  back 
Eis  soon  as  it  would  have  been  necessary  to  take  but 
one  step  forward  in  order  to  gain  the  victory.  .  .  . 


rilE  KING  83 


Without  being  cruel,  this  King  was  not  humane. 
Tragic  catastrophes  neither  surprised  nor  touched 
him.  To  the  Duke  of  Berry,  who  excused  himself 
for  having  had  the  misfortune  to  disturb  the  king's 
slumber  by  dying,  he  was  content  to  say :  '  I  had  my 
sleep  out.'  Nevertheless  this  imperturbable  man  flew 
into  a  horrible  rage  whenever  he  was  contradicted, 
and,  in  fine,  this  prince,  so  cold  and  insensible,  had 
mental  affections  that  closely  resembled  passions ; 
thus  Count  d'Avaray,  M.  de  Blacas,  M.  Decazes, 
Madame  de  Balbi,  and  Madame  du  Cayla  were  in 
turn  his  intimate  friends ;  all  these  beloved  persons 
were  favorites ;  unfortunately  too  many  letters  fell 
into  their  hands." 

These  criticisms  seem  to  us  a  little  harsh.  Was 
not  the  favoritism  of  which  Louis  XVIII.  is  so  often 
accused  a  necessity  of  friendship?  A  childless 
widower,  his  essential  need  was  that  of  a  friend,  a 
confidant,  another  self,  whom  he  could  admit  to  all 
his  thoughts,  to  all  his  troubles;  and  the  persons 
whom  he  definitively  honored  with  close  affection, 
received  only  benefits  from  him  in  return  for  what 
they  gave.  Let  us  add  that  Louis  XVIII.  was  an 
accomplished  host;  it  was  he  who  made  the  cele- 
brated remark :  "  Punctuality  is  the  politeness  of 
kings  "  ;  he  had  the  gift  of  saying  amiable  and  pleas- 
ing things,  and,  besides  this,  he  was  generous  and 
delicate  in  making  presents.  There  was  a  depth  of 
moderation,  wisdom,  and  indulgence  in  his  character. 
He  was  not  cruel ;  he  did  not  like  war ;  he  did  not 


84  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

even  punish  criminals,  except  when  he  believed  their 
chastisement  not  only  necessary  but  indispensable 
from  a  political  point  of  view;  and  we  think  that 
Marshal  Marmont  was  right  in  saying :  "  His  heart 
was  generous  and  kindly  when  the  passions  of  the 
people  about  him  did  not  hinder  him  from  showing 
his  true  character." 

Was  Louis  XVIII.  intelligent?  All  are  agreed  on 
this  topic.  Had  he  not  been  King,  still  Louis  XVIII. 
would  have  held  his  own  among  the  most  intelligent 
men  of  this  epoch,  —  even  beside  M.  de  Talleyrand 
himself.  Unlike  those  SmigrSs^  of  whom  it  was  said 
that  they  had  learned  nothing  and  forgotten  nothing, 
he  had  learned  much  and  retained  much.  It  was  al- 
ways noticed  that  in  familiar  conversation,  as  well  as 
in  his  responses  to  addresses  and  public  speeches, 
his  expressions  were  appropriate,  and  his  ideas  to 
the  point.  He  was  well  educated,  and  no  one  was 
better  versed  than  he  in  Latin  authors,  especially 
Horace,  his  favorite  poet,  and  one  whom  he  quoted 
with  great  propriety.  He  was  a  fine  conversationalist. 
Being  a  man  of  ability,  he  was  fond  of  literature,  and, 
as  sovereign,  he  protected  it.  Nevertheless  Mar- 
shal Marmont,  though  he  recognized  the  King's 
intelligence,  makes  some  exceptions :  "  His  intellect," 
says  he,  "  which  was  far  too  highly  praised,  was  often 
at  fault.  His  prodigious  memory  and  exceedingly 
wide  reading  afforded  him  the  means  of  making  the 
most  extraordinary  tours  de  force  and  astonishing 
his  auditors,  but,  so  far  as  serious  discussion  is  con- 


THE  KING  85 


cerned,  his  abilities  were  of  the  flimsiest.  His  brain, 
Avhich  could  retain  everything,  produced  nothing. 
He  never  went  so  far  as  to  give  three  reasons  in  de- 
fence of  a  preconceived  opinion.  Serious  in  the  most 
trifling  matters,  he  had  a  notion  that  he  could  rouse 
admiration  by  employing  pretentious  and  often  very 
ridiculous  phrases.  .  .  .  Having  seen  much,  he  had 
a  great  store  of  anecdotes  which  he  told  agreeably ; 
but  persons  who,  like  myself,  had  long  been  on 
intimate  terms  with  him,  knew  them  by  heart,  but 
though  he  was  perfectly  aware  of  this  he  never  failed 
to  repeat  them." 

It  has  been  said  that  no  man  is  great  to  his  valet. 
May  it  not  be  added  that  no  sovereign  is  wise  to  his 
courtiers?  The  Duke  of  Ragusa  saw  Louis  XVHI. 
too  frequently,  and  that  is  why  he  criticises  him. 
Moreover,  his  criticisms  seem  to  us  somewhat  over- 
stated. He  accuses  Louis  XVHL  of  being  at  a  loss 
for  arguments  during  a  discussion  ;  kings  do  not 
discuss,  they  decide.  The  Marshal  accuses  him  of 
telling  the  same  story  over  and  over  again;  but 
what  anecdotist  does  not  repeat  himself?  He  says 
that  his  brain  was  incapable  of  originating  anything ; 
but  one  does  not  expect  a  wit  to  create  works  of 
imagination.  In  any  case  it  is  certain  that  every- 
body who  came  to  the  court  felt  the  charm  of  the 
King's  conversation.  The  Duchess  of  Abrant^s,  who 
was  intelligent  herself,  says  in  her  Memoirs:  "I 
found  Louis  XVHL  a  man  of  great  learning  and 
profound  wisdom,  and  endowed  with   large  knowl- 


THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL&ME 


edge  of  men.  On  one  occasion,  especially,  I  was 
with  him  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  and  assuredly 
I  do  not  regret  the  attention  I  gave  to  what  he  said 
to  me.  He  conversed  with  rare  talent."  In  fine,  we 
do  not  hesitate,  in  answer  to  the  question :  "  Was 
Louis  XVIII.  intelligent  ? "  to  reply  that  he  was 
very  intelligent. 

Was  Louis  XVIII.  able  ?  His  ability  is  as  incon- 
testable as  his  intelligence.  In  an  era  of  scepticism 
he  had  from  the  outset  the  great  merit  of  believing 
and  making  others  believe  in  himself  and  his  cause. 
On  this  essential  point  Chateaubriand,  even  in  his 
MSmoires  cC  Outre-Tombe,  does  him  full  justice : 
"  Louis  XVIII.,"  says  he,  "  never  forgot  the  pre- 
eminence of  his  birth ;  he  was  everywhere  king, 
as  God  is  God  everywhere ;  in  a  crib  or  in  a 
temple,  on  a  golden  altar  or  on  one  of  clay.  Evil 
fortune  never  wrested  from  him  the  least  concession  ; 
his  haughtiness  gained  assurance  even,  by  reason  of 
his  low  estate  ;  he  had  the  appearance  of  saying  : 
'  Kill  me !  You  will  not  kill  the  centuries  written 
on  my  brow.'  The  fixed  idea  of  the  grandeur,  the 
antiquity,  the  dignity,  and  the  majesty  of  his  race 
gave  to  Louis  XVIII.  a  veritable  empire.  Even  the 
generals  of  Bonaparte  acknowledged  its  dominion. 
They  were  more  intimidated  when  in  the  presence  of 
this  impotent  old  man  than  in  the  presence  of  the 
tenible  master  who  had  commanded  them  in  a  hun- 
dred  battles.  The  unshaken  faith  of  Louis  XVIII. 
in  his  blood  is  the  real  force  that  put  the  sceptre 


THE  KING  87 


into  his  hand.  The  exile  without  an  army  made  his 
appearance  at  the  close  of  all  the  battles  which  he 
had  not  fought.  Louis  XVIII.  was  legitimacy  incar- 
nate ;  when  he  disappeared,  legitimacy  was  no  longer 
to  be  seen." 

This  faith  in  the  monarchical  cause  was  a  supreme 
ability.  The  first  merit  of  a  priest  is  belief  in  re- 
ligion. The  first  merit  of  a  king  is  belief  in  royalty. 
Louis  XVIII.  had  another  secret,  fit  for  kings.  He 
never  hurried.  Most  politicians  exhaust  themselves 
in  fruitless  excitements.  He  was  disturbed  neither 
by  the  inexpediency  of  impatience  nor  the  dangers 
of  hasty  action.  His  sluggishness  was  the  result  of 
calculation,  his  temporizing  was  a  force.  Nothing 
intimidated,  nothing  took  him  by  surprise.  He  was 
not  always  master  of  othei"S,  but  he  was  always 
master  of  himself.  No  one  knew  better  than  he  the 
hardships  of  being  an  emigrS,  and  no  one  ever  found 
him  falling  into  the  exaggerated  way  of  speaking 
common  among  those  about  him.  He  never  went  to 
extremes,  but  was,  if  one  may  so  express  himself, 
a  "golden  mean,"  a  sovereign,  an  umpire,  a  moder- 
ator, a  king,  and  a  philosopher  at  the  same  time.  As 
Lamartine  says :  "  He  was  obliged,  by  complaisance 
and  weakness,  to  feign  more  hatred  and  contempt  for 
the  Revolution  than  he  really  felt.  At  bottom  he 
was  well  disposed  towards  a  revolution  that  had  re- 
stored him  to  his  throne,  and  which  agreed  with  him 
in  establishing  it  firmly  through  the  power  of  the 
opinions  which  had  of  late  come  into  vogue.     His 


88  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL&ME 

mind  was  rejuvenated  by  reflection,  just  as  his  body 
had  grown  old  by  years.  He  was  a  king  of  the  past, 
but  he  was  a  man  of  his  day.  Let  us  say  the  word : 
his  memories  came  from  habit ;  his  forecasts  from 
genius.  At  need,  he  was  energetic  and  could  enforce 
his  will."  "  King  Louis  XVIII.  had  a  cold  heart  and 
a  liberal  mind,"  said  M.  Guizot.  "  The  anger  and 
bad  temper  of  his  relatives  had  little  effect,  when 
once  he  had  decided  not  to  let  it  trouble  him.  It 
was  his  pride  and  his  pleasure  to  think  himself  more 
clear-headed  and  more  politic  than  the  rest  of  his 
family,  and  to  act  on  his  own  opinion  with  entire 
independence." 

Although,  in  general,  Louis  XVIII.  was  very 
highly  esteemed  for  his  sagacity,  yet  he  had  his 
detractors  among  noted  statesmen  who  judged  with 
great  severity  of  his  work.  Prince  Metternich 
thought  that  the  author  of  the  Charter  was  thor- 
oughly in  error,  and  that  a  liberal  Restoration  could 
be  nothing  but  an  expedient  and  not  a  solution. 
He  wrote  to  Count  Apponyi  on  the  2d  of  July, 
1827 :  "  Napoleon,  of  whom  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  he  had  the  sentiment  of  power,  said  to  me  one 
day :  '  You  see  me  master  of  France.  Well,  I  would 
not  undertake  to  govern  it  for  three  months  under 
a  free  press.'  Louis  XVIIL,  seemingly  thinking 
himself  stronger  than  Napoleon,  was  not  content 
to  allow  freedom  to  the  press,  but  expressly  made 
it  free  by  the  terms  of  the  Charter." 

According  to  the  Austrian  statesman:    "In  1814 


THE  KING  89 


everything  should  have  been  done  in  France  except 
what  actually  was  done.  Grant  that  Louis  XVIII. 
was  Frenchman  enough  to  have  all  the  national 
defects,  grant  that,  little  by  little,  he  could  have 
gained  popularity  without  exposing  the  throne  and 
the  nation  to  another  revolution  by  evoking  the 
principles  in  which  the  Revolution  had  its  rise, 
it  is  still  certain  that  he  was  mistaken  in  either 
case,  and  that  the  results  of  his  error  would  of 
necessity  have  been  disastrous.  By  resting  the 
restored  throne  on  the  principles  of  the  Constitu- 
ent Assembly,  applied,  indeed,  with  moderation,  he 
caused  the  return  of  the  Revolution  which  Napoleon 
had  overthrown.  This  was  to  erect  a  throne  sur- 
rounded with  republican  institutions  —  an  invention 
of  which  Louis  XVIII.  is  the  author." 

Did  Prince  Metternich,  then,  wish  for  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  old  regime?  No.  What  he 
desired  was  the  imperial  rdgime  enforced  by  royalty. 
He  says:  "Louis  XVIII.  had  the  choice,  not  between 
the  return  of  what  had  come  to  be  called  the  old 
regime,  —  impossible  now,  since  men  cannot  return 
to  things  the  very  principles  of  which  have  been 
destroyed,  —  but  between  a  new  monarchical  order 
applied  on  monarchical  bases  and  a  state  of  affairs 
which,  under  the  name  of  monarchy,  surrounded 
the  throne  with  republican  institutions.  Instead  of 
establishing  the  throne,  as  Bonaparte  did,  on  frankly 
monarchical  foundations,  Louis  XVIII.  founded  it 
on  the  moderate  principles  of  the  liberalism  of  1789. 


90  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

...  It  is  the  misfortune  of  France  to  be  ungovern- 
able, and  she  is  in  this  lamentable  condition  because 
the  fragments  of  a  social  revolution  are  poor  mate- 
rials for  reconstruction,  and  because  Louis  XVIII. 
was  a  wretched  architect.  In  the  last  and  longest 
conversation  accorded  to  me  by  the  King  before 
my  departure  from  Paris,  I  said  to  him :  '  Without 
wishing  to  do  so,  your  government  is  substantially 
on  the  way  to  revive  the  Revolution  of  1789.  The 
Restoration  seems  to  have  come  to  life  only  to  give 
the  seal  of  legality  to  doctrines  and  acts  which 
had  not  that  sanction  till  the  Restoration  was  brought 
about.'  The  mind  of  Louis  XVIII.  was  strongly 
impregnated  with  the  good  and  bad  characteristics 
of  the  French  mind  in  general,  —  that  strange  amal- 
gam of  serious  qualities  and  an  amount  of  levity 
that  renders  actions  incalculable  and  stands  in  the 
way  of  foreseeing  what  will  happen." 

And  so  to  the  Austrian  statesman  Louis  XVIII. 
was  a  mere  Utopian,  a  doctrinaire.  But  the  ideas  of 
Prince  Metternich  have  to  be  discounted.  He  was 
the  born  enemy  of  parliamentarism,  against  which  he 
waged  a  war  from  which  he  did  not  come  out  victo- 
rious. We  are  inclined  to  believe  that  since  it  was 
not  in  the  power  of  the  Restoration  to  give  glory,  it 
ought  to  have  given  liberty.  However  that  may  be, 
the  fact  should  be  remembered  that  the  system  inau- 
gurated by  the  author  of  the  Charter  was  followed 
by  all  succeeding  governments,  and  that  this  prince 
remains  the  type  of  a  constitutional  sovereign. 


THE  KING  91 


Having  studied  Louis  XVIII.  in  his  physique  and 
morals,  let  us  now  see  how  he  lived  at  the  Tuileries. 
The  King's  life  was  regulated  most  methodically,  and 
every  hour  had  its  regular  and  invariable  use.  He 
rose  at  seven  o'clock,  received  the  first  gentleman  of 
the  bedchamber  or  M.  de  Blacas  till  eight,  held  his 
business  meeting  at  nine,  breakfasted  at  ten  with 
attendants  and  persons  who  had  been  authorized, 
once  for  all,  to  come  at  all  hours;  that  is  to  say,  with 
the  titularies  of  important  court  offices  and  the  heads 
of  the  various  departments  of  the  royal  household. 
The  Duchess  of  Angouleme  and  one  or  two  of  her 
ladies  were  present  at  this  breakfast  and  withdrew 
at  five  minutes  to  eleven.  From  five  minutes  to 
eleven  till  the  clock  struck,  the  royal  amphitryon 
often  told  some  rather  broad  story  to  cheer  up  his 
convives.  Exactly  at  eleven  o'clock  he  dismissed 
them,  and  gave  audiences  till  noon,  when  he  re- 
ceived men  of  the  most  prominence  and  the  distin- 
guished foreigners  who  were  passing  through  France. 
"  Here,"  says  Lamartine,  "  this  prince  really  enjoyed 
his  throne.  In  order  to  appear  less  great,  he  de- 
scended to  all  the  familiarities  of  conversation.  .  .  . 
He  liked  to  please  and  charm  those  with  whom  he 
talked;  he  reigned  by  his  attractive  qualities;  he  felt 
and  made  others  feel  that  he  was  the  brightest  man 
in  the  kingdom.  This  was  the  sceptre  personal  to 
himself;  he  would  not  have  exchanged  it  for  that  to 
which  he  was  born."  At  noon  the  King  went  to  Mass 
attended  by  his  retinue,  which  was  always  composed 
of  at  least  twenty  persons.     Upon  returning  from  the 


92  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

chapel  of  the  chateau,  he  received  his  ministers  when 
they  wished  to  consult  him,  or  his  council,  which  he 
held  once  a  week,  and  which  never  remained  in  ses- 
sion for  more  than  an  hour.  When  it  was  two,  three, 
-or  four  o'clock,  according  to  the  season,  he  went  for 
a  drive  in  his  large  travelling-carriage,  and  sometimes 
made  four,  five,  or  even  ten  leagues,  the  horses  run- 
ning at  full  speed;  for  he  considered  rapid  driving 
indispensable  to  his  health.  He  felt  stifled  if  the 
horses  went  slowly  or  even  at  a  trot.  He  must  have 
full. gallop.  And  this  dizzy  speed  tired  his  numerous 
escort  greatly.  Relays  of  steeds  and  detachments  of 
troops  stationed  at  intervals  gave  employment  to 
nearly  three  hundred  horses  for  these  daily  drives  of 
the  King.  He  dined  at  six  o'clock  with  the  Duchess 
of  Angouleme  and  members  of  the  royal  family,  and 
ate  with  good  appetite.  He  was  a  gourmet,  and  his 
pretensions  in  the  line  of  gastronomy  were  perfectly 
justified.  Dinner  lasted  till  seven  o'clock.  The 
royal  familj"^  were  together  till  eight.  Then  people 
who  had  the  entrde  might  ask  for  admittance ;  they 
were  received,  sometimes  individually  and  sometimes 
in  groups.  At  nine,  Louis  XVIH.  went  to  the  coun- 
cil-room and  gave  out  the  countersign ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  countersign  of  the  chateau.  A  few  persons  had 
the  right  to  be  present  at  this  time.  They  profited 
by  it  to  pay  court  to  the  sovereign.  This  business 
commonly  occupied  five  minutes,  and  then  the  King 
retired,  after  saying  a  few  words,  always  kindly,  to 
every  person  present.  To-morrow  was  like  yesterday, 
and  the  royal  life  went  on  with  majestic  monotony. 


IX 


MONSIEUR 


BORN  at  Versailles  on  the  8th  of  October,  1767, 
and,  since  the  2d  of  June,  1805,  the  widower 
of  Marie  Therese  of  Savoy,  Monsieur  —  for  so  the 
Count  of  Artois,  who  was  subsequently  to  reign 
under  the  name  of  Charles  X.,  was  called  by  virtue 
of  his  position  as  brother  of  Louis  XVIII.  —  was 
fifty-six  years  old  at  the  beginning  of  the  Restora- 
tion. While  the  King  already  looked  like  an  aged 
man,  Monsieur,  who  was  only  two  years  younger, 
still  preserved  the  grace  and  elegance  of  youth. 
The  two  brothers  resembled  each  other  in  morals  no 
more  than  in  physique.  Their  appearance,  their  bear- 
ing, their  faces,  and  their  ideas  were  in  absolute  con- 
trast. The  Count  of  Artois,  slender  and  handsomely 
formed,  accustomed  to  bodily  exercise,  was  not  only 
a  great  pedestrian  and  huntsman,  but  an  accom- 
plished horseman.  The  face  of  Louis  XVIII.  was 
grave ;  that  of  the  Count  of  Artois  always  pleasant 
and  smiling.  There  were  certain  modern  aspects  in 
the  character  and  opinions  of  Louis  XVIII. ;  the 
Count  of  Artois  was  essentially  a  man  of  the  old 
regime,  a  grand  seigneur  of  the  court  of  Versailles,  a 

93 


94  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

prince  after  the  SmigrSs'  own  heart.  The  one  looked 
upon  the  reforms  that  had  been  brought  about  as 
necessary  and  even  indispensable ;  the  other  was  con- 
vinced that  the  Revolution  had  been  tlie  most  disas- 
trous, as  it  was  the  most  sterile,  of  convulsions.  One 
looked  forward  to  the  future ;  the  other  shut  himself 
up  in  the  past.  One  wished  to  be  a  man  of  the  times ; 
the  other  would  have  been  glad  had  he  been  able  to 
go  back  to  the  days  of  the  Crusades.  One  emigrated 
only  when  nothing  else  was  left  for  him  to  do ;  the 
other  was  the  first  to  give  the  signal  for  flight.  In 
exile  as  at  the  court  of  Louis  XVI.,  and  at  the 
Tuileries  as  in  exile,  they  had  pursued  different 
courses.  The  liberal  royalists  extolled  Louis  XVIII. ; 
the  Count  of  Artois  was  the  idol  -of  the  absolutist 
royalists. 

The  two  opposed  systems,  which  first  were  face  to 
face  at  Versailles,  and  then  again  during  the  exile, 
again  found  themselves  at  war  after  the  return  of 
the  Bourbons  to  France.  The  Count  of  Artois, 
whose  lieutenant-generalship  had  given  him  a  taste 
for  power,  did  not  wish  to  give  up  politics.  At  the 
Pavilion  de  Marsan  he  had  organized,  or  at  least  had 
tried  to  organize,  a  sort  of  State  within  the  State. 
For  the  sake  of  Monsieur,  the  King's  brother,  a  bu- 
reau of  information  was  established  at  the  entresol  of 
the  Pavilion,  under  the  direction  of  MM.  de  la  Mai- 
sonfort  and  Perrier  de  Monciel.  M.  de  Vitrolles  had 
put  this  bureau  into  operation  on  the  very  day  when 
the  Count  of  Artois   entered  Paris.      According  to 


MONSIEUR  95 


Lamartine,  the  whole  policy  of  the  King's  brother 
consisted  of  secret  intrigues,  police  espionage,  contin- 
gent plans  of  government,  encouragement  for  ultra- 
royalist  writers,  and  court  subsidies  for  sycophantic 
and  hungry  authors.  This  was  only  a  policy  of  mys- 
tification. When  his  brother  was  not  present,  the 
Count  of  Artois  allowed  bitter  criticisms  of  the  course 
of  the  government  to  be  made.  In  the  King's  pres- 
ence he  was  submission  itself.  Louis  XVIII.  had 
established  strict  discipline  at  court,  and  no  member 
of  his  family  dared  to  censure  him.  The  petty 
intrigues  of  the  Pavilion  de  Marsan  were  carried  on 
surreptitiously,  and  sometimes  even  the  King  was 
ignorant  of  their  existence,  so  greatly  did  people  fear 
to  disturb  him  in  his  repose. 

Being  an  extreme  optimist,  the  Count  of  Artois 
did  not  understand  the  political  difficulties  of  the 
situation,  and  innocently  imagined  that  if  he  had 
been  allowed  to  act,  he  would  have  satisfied  every- 
body. The  magnificent  reception  given  to  him  in 
Paris  on  the  12th  of  April,  1814,  had  dazed  him.  He 
judged  the  Restoration  by  that  first  day,  just  as  some 
people  judge  of  a  marriage  by  the  honeymoon.  When 
he  entered  the  Tuileries  he  was  in  an  ecstasy.  Every- 
thing filled  him  with  joy ;  everything  ravished  him. 
"Would  you  believe,"  said  he  to  Count  Beugnot, 
"  that  I  heard  a  hundred  times  at  Versailles  that 
there  was  not  elbow-room  at  the  Tuileries,  that  it 
consisted  of  garrets  and  holes,  and  behold !  the 
rooms  are  commodious  and  magnificent ! "    He  was  so 


96  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

happy  that  he  thought  everybody  else  must  be  happy 
too.  The  miseries  of  exile  had  not  weakened  his 
bent  for  seeing  everything  in  a  rose-colored  light. 
He  w^as  a  man  perpetually  under  illusions.  When 
he  left  Versailles,  in  1789,  he  imagined  that  he  was 
to  return  within  three  months.  At  the  outset  of  the 
Restoration  he  was  convinced  that  the  Revolution 
had  forever  disappeared,  and  that  France  and  the 
Bourbons  were  to  be  indissolubly  in  accord.  Heed- 
lessly prodigal  of  fair  words  and  promises,  carry- 
ing courtesy  to  the  point  of  exaggeration,  affable 
even  to  the  extent  of  making  himself  commonplace, 
a  man  of  the  world  rather  than  a  prince,  he  had  the 
gift  of  pleasing,  and  the  liberals  themselves  pardoned 
his  retrograde  opinions  because  of  his  kindly  deport- 
ment. Superficial  and  not  well  educated,  he  was  not 
without  some  intelligence,  and,  notwithstanding  his 
great  piety,  his  worldly  conversation  pleased  the 
ladies  more  than  the  learned  quotations  and  harmoni- 
ous periods  of  his  brother.  Before  all,  he  was  a 
courtier,  a  man  of  the  salons.  He  was  affable  to 
his  acquaintances,  good  to  his  sons,  affectionate  to 
his  niece  and  daughter-in-law,  the  Duchess  of  Angou- 
leme,  and  had  the  art  of  consoling  with  a  smile  the 
poor  Smigr^s  who  returned  to  their  provinces  without 
having  been  able  to  obtain  anything  from  the  King 
and  his  ministers,  and  he  enjoyed  real  popularity 
among  the  ultra-royalists  by  reason  of  his  disposition, 
his  manners,  and  his  courteous  language. 

The  household  of  Monsieur  was  composed  of  men 


MONSIEUR  97 


who  were  faithful  personal  attendants  and  sincere 
admirers  of  his  political  ideas.  His  chief  equerry- 
was  Count  Armand  de  Polignac  ;  his  first  gentlemen 
of  the  bedchamber  were  the  Duke  of  Maill6  and  the 
Duke  of  Fitz  James ;  and  his  first  almoner,  the  Abbe 
de  L?til.  By  his  convereation  this  virtuous  ecclesias- 
tic reottiied  to  him  touching  and  mournful  memories ; 
for  tne  Prince,  who,  at  the  end  of  the  old  regime, 
had  led  a  very  idle  and  dissolute  life,  became  a  pious 
and  exemplary  Christian  during  the  emigration.  The 
death  of  his  well-beloved,  the  beautiful  and  poetic 
Countess  of  Polastron,  had  wrought  this  change  as 
by  miracle.  In  her  curious  and  still  unpublished 
memoirs  the  Duchess  of  Gontaut,  who  was  a  relative 
of  Mme.  de  Plastron,  describes  the  last  moments  of 
that  clever  and  affectionate  woman :  •'  The  doors  of 
the  salon  were  open ;  Monsieur  did  not  venture  to 
enter;  I  was  with  her,  I  held  her  hand,  she  was 
trembling.  She  saw  Monsieur,  who  was  about  to 
spring  to  her  side.  '  Don't  come  in ! '  said  the  Abb^ 
de  Latil  in  a  loud  voice.  Monsieur  did  not  dare  to 
cross  the  threshold.  His  agitation  increased.  She 
raised  her  hands,  and  said :  '  A  •  boon,  monseigneur, 
a  boon !  Be  God's,  all  God's ! '  He  fell  on  his 
knees  and  exclaimed,  '  God,  I  swear  it ! '  She  said 
again:  'All  God's! '  Her  head  sank  on  my  shoulder. 
This  last  word  was  her  latest  sigh ;  she  had  passed 
away.  Monsieur  raised  his  arms  toward  heaven 
and  uttered  a  dreadful  cry.  The  door  was  then 
closed." 


98  THE  DUCUEss  OF  angoul£:me 

From  that  hour  the  worldly  man  disappeared  and 
gave  place  to  the  man  of  piety.  The  Prince  never 
failed  in  the  promise  made  at  that  deathbed  and 
sealed  with  a  vow.  Thereafter,  he  who  had  been  so 
fond  of  women  led  a  life  of  the  utmost  propriety, 
and  thought  chiefly  of  his  salvation.  As  Lamartine 
says :  "  The  cause,  the  efficacy,  and  the  enduring 
nature  of  the  change  in  his  life  showed  that  he  pos- 
sessed a  power  of  loving  and  a  strength  of  resolve 
which  no  one  had  ever  suspected  under  his  habitual 
weakness  and  inconstancy.  It  proved  that  had  he 
been  better  advised  by  those  who  surrounded  him,  he 
might  have  displayed  political  heroism  as  well  as  the 
heroism  of  love  and  piety."  Some  indulgence  should 
be  granted  to  the  memory  of  the  brother  of  Louis 
XVI.  and  Louis  XVIIL,  for  his  faults  were  those 
of  the  head,  and  not  those  of  the  heart.  Even  when 
he  was  the  victim  of  self-deception  in  regard  to  poli- 
tics, he  thought  he  was  acting  for  the  best.  The 
criticisms  that  he  made  do  not  prove  jealousy,  but 
genuine  conviction  and  unswerving  faith  in  the 
theory  of  throne  and  altar.  His  mistakes  will  be 
pardoned  because  of  the  goodness  of  his  heart  and 
his  sincerity. 


THE  DUKES  OF  ANGOULEME  AND  OF  BERRY 

THE  King's  two  nephews,  the  Duke  of  Angouleme 
and  the  Duke  of  Berry,  one  born  at  Versailles 
on  the  5th  of  August,  1775,  and  the  other  on  the 
24th  of  January,  1778,  were,  respectively,  thirty-eight 
and  thirty-six  years  old  at  the  advent  of  the  Resto- 
ration. Unlike  their  father  in  pereonal  appearance 
and  disposition,  they  had  neither  his  elegance,  nor 
his  affability,  nor  his  charm.  The  Count  of  Artois 
looked  the  grand  seigneur  as  much  as  his  sons  com- 
ported themselves  like  plebeians.  At  first  sight  no 
one  would  have  said  that  they  belonged  to  two  of 
the  most  illustrious  families  in  the  world,  —  the 
houses  of  Savoy  and  Bourbon.  Yet  they  had  traits 
that  were  serious  and  worthy  of  their  line,  —  recti- 
tude, honesty,  and  courage.  They  were  not  men  of 
courts,  but  men  of  heart. 

The  Duke  of  AngoulSme  was  not  at  Paris  during 
the  first  days  of  the  Restoration.  He  did  not  arrive 
till  the  27th  of  May,  1814,  and  came  from  the  south 
of  France,  where  he  had  been  the  first  to  raise  the 
white  flag.  A  brilliant  reception  was  given  to  him. 
1  he  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  escorted  by  the  Duke  of 

99 


100  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

Berry  wearing  the  uniform  of  the  chasseurs,  and  by 
a  large  staff  composed  of  French  marshals,  lieuten- 
ant-generals, major-generals,  and  other  high  officers, 
went  as  far  as  the  Grand  Montrouge  to  meet  him. 
The  national  guard,  both  infantry  and  cavalry,  sev- 
eral detachments  of  troops  of  the  line,  and  gendarmes 
went  to  the  barrier  of  the  Maine.  These  troops  were 
preceded  far  beyond  the  barrier  by  an  immense  num- 
ber of  Parisians,  on  foot,  on  horses,  and  in  carriages, 
which  lined  both  sides  of  the  road.  The  boulevards, 
the  public  squares,  the  quays  which  the  Prince  must 
pass,  were  equally  crowded  with  a  sympathetic  multi- 
tude. When  the  carriages  of  the  Duke  and  the 
Duchess  met,  husband  and  wife  seemed  delighted  to 
see  each  other  again.  They  alighted  and  conversed 
together  for  a  few  minutes.  They  then  proceeded 
to  the  Tuileries,  the  Prince  on  horseback,  and  the 
Princess  in  her  carriage.  In  the  words  of  the  Moni- 
teur:  "It  touched  the  people  to  see  the  auspicious 
change  in  the  face  of  the  Duchess,  the  happiness  and 
satisfaction  wrought  by  the  whole  scene.  His  High- 
ness responded  with  remarkable  affability  to  the 
cheers  which,  in  consequence,  became  still  more 
enthusiastic."  When  the  barrier  was  reached,  the 
Prince  received  the  congratulations  of  the  prefect 
of  the  Seine.  Then,  preceded  by  the  membei's  of 
the  municipal  corps  in  state  carriages,  and  accom- 
panied by  the  Duke  of  Berry  and  the  entire  staff,  he 
traversed  the  new  boulevards,  the  rue  de  Sevres,  and 
the  rue  du  Bac,  and  arrived  at  the  chateau  of  the 


THE  DUKES   OF  ANGOUL^ME  AND  BERRY     101 

Tuileries,  through  the  great  gate  of  the  Palais-Royal. 
The  Moniteur,  ever  enthusiastic,  adds :  "  All  the 
homage  and  devotion  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
capital  had  rendered  to  the  King  and  to  the  princes 
of  his  house  when  they  came  within  the  walls,  were 
renewed  with  the  same  enthusiasm  and  the  same 
unanimity  during  the  entry  of  the  Duke  of  Angou- 
leme.  This  Prince,  who,  in  our  southern  provinces, 
had  so  often  witnessed  the  enthusiasm  inspired  by 
his  presence,  could  not  but  think  that  he  was  still 
surrounded  by  that  same  quality  of  Frenchmen  who 
can  express  their  feelings  only  by  the  liveliest  sort  of 
excitement.  The  speech  and  the  animated  accent  of 
Bordeaux  and  Toulouse  reappeared  in  Paris  to  honor 
and  welcome  him." 

At  court  the  Duke  of  Angouleme  was  but  a  mod- 
erate success.  He  had  neither  the  good  qualities 
nor  the  faults  that  please  courtiers.  His  household 
was  made  up  of  members  of  the  nobility.  Count  de 
Damas-Crux  was  his  first  gentleman  of  the  bedcham- 
ber; the  Duke  of  Guiche,  his  chief  equerry;  and 
Baron  de  Damas,  Count  Melchoir  de  Polignac,  and 
Count  Louis  de  Saint-Priest  were  his  gentlemen-in- 
waiting.  But  this  was  not  the  society  he  preferred. 
As  Baron  Louis  de  Viel-Castel  says:  "He  had  no 
predilection  for  courtiers,  and  more  than  once  he 
even  let  them  see  that  their  society  was  not  very 
agreeable  to  him.  This  aversion,  strange  in  a  man 
in  his  position,  may  have  been  due  to  his  natural 
clumsiness ;  he  was  ill  at  ease  in  refined  and  polished 


102  TUE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

society,  which,  though  it  is  lavish  of  respectful  and 
devoted  homage  to  princes,  requires  from  them  con- 
sideration and  respect  in  return.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  cause  of  such  conduct,  it  might  have 
resulted,  and  later  on  it  did  result,  in  making  the 
Duke  of  Angouleme  popular  for  some  time,  in  that 
it  brought  him  into  closer  relations  with  generals  of 
the  Empire  and  men  of  the  new  regime,  who  annoyed 
him  less  than  the  old  courtiers  because  they  more 
readily  accommodated  themselves  to  the  inequalities 
of  his  disposition." 

Notwithstanding  his  natural  vivacity,  the  Duke  of 
Angouleme  was  an  admirable  husband.  Full  of 
respect  for  his  wife,  to  whom  he  had  been  married 
since  the  10th  of  June,  1799,  and  whose  barrenness 
he  lamented  without  even  complaining  of  it,  he  was 
always  faithful  to  her.  The  wedded  pair,  perfectly  at 
one  in  thought  and  feeling,  entertained  for  each  other 
an  affection  based  on  the  highest  esteem.  The  Duke 
of  Angouleme  was  a  pious  man  without  being  "cleri- 
cal." As  regards  political  matters,  he  was  favorable 
to  a  just  and  wise  liberalism.  Sincerely  devoted  to 
Louis  XVIII.,  with  whom  during  the  exile  he  had 
lived  much  more  than  with  his  father,  he  held  abso- 
lute obedience  to  the  King  to  be  the  first  duty  of  a 
prince. 

The  Duke  of  Berry  did  not  lead  so  regular  a  life 
as  his  brother.  He  was  extremely  fond  of  pleasure. 
He  had  had  mistresses  in  London.  At  Paris  he  was 
dissipated.     His  capricious  and  violent  temperament 


THE  DUKES   OF  ANGOULEME  AND  BERRY     103 

could  not  endure  quietude.  His  conversation  was 
more  interesting  than  that  of  his  brother.  When  he 
chose  to  take  the  trouble,  he  talked  agreeably,  and 
he  was  by  no  means  devoid  of  a  certain  sort  of  wit. 
Naturalness  and  connectedness  are  shown  in  his  cor- 
respondence. He  had  artistic  tastes,  was  fond  of 
music,  and  understood  painting.  He  had  a  fund  of 
loyalty,  generosity,  and  kindliness,  but  the  intemper- 
ance of  his  language,  his  rudeness,  his  vehemence, 
and  his  fits  of  rage  made  him  many  enemies. 

At  great  ceremonies,  when  he  donned  a  white 
satin  costume  embroidered  with  gold,  the  Duke  of 
Berry,  with  his  big  neck  and  his  portly  figure,  looked 
awkward  and  constrained.  But  uniform  did  not 
become  him  badly,  and  he  had  a  martial  air.  He  had 
greatly  distinguished  himself  in  the  army  of  Cond(i 
by  his  rash  valor.  Interested  in  military  matters 
rather  than  in  politics,  he  affected  to  prefer  barracks 
to  salons,  and  a  trooper  to  a  courtier.  When  he  held 
a  review  he  had  a  mania  for  imitating  the  rude 
behavior  and  the  familiar  language  of  the  Emperor 
Napoleon.  He  retained  his  affection  for  the  noble- 
men who  had  shared  his  exile.  His  first  gentleman 
of  the  bedchamber  was  Count  de  la  Ferronnays ;  his 
chief  equerry.  Count  de  Nantouillet ;  his  commander 
of  the  horse.  Chevalier  de  S^gur ;  his  gentlemen-in- 
waiting,  Count  de  Mesnard  and  Count  de  Clermont- 
Lodeve ;  but  he  was  still  better  pleased  to  be  in  the 
company  of  the  young  officers  who  had  shone  in  the 
court  of  Napoleon.  * 


104  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

"  The  Duke  of  Angouleme,"  says  Marshal  Marmont, 
"seemed  lacking  in  grace  and  intelligence.  The 
Duke  of  Berry  appeared  to  be  greatly  his  superior. 
The  latter  possessed  nobility,  gaiety,  and  a  liking  for 
pleasure  and  the  fine  arts.  The  young  general  offi- 
cers who  had  been  on  the  Emperor's  staff;  the  cour^ 
tiers  who  had  carried  the  court  spirit  into  the  army  — 
a  spirit  a  thousand  times  more  dangerous  and  shock- 
ing on  the  field  of  war,  where  truth,  frankness,  and 
devotion  should  alone  prevail, — these  military  gen- 
tlemen, I  say,  who  had  already  secured  favors  with- 
out sharing  in  dangers,  thought  that  there  was  still 
good  quarry  to  be  got  out  of  the  new  state  of  affairs. 
So  they  followed  and  flocked  around  the  Duke  of 
Berry,  who  was  at  first  much  flattered  by  their  atten- 
tion. But  it  was  not  long  before  the  Prince's  habit- 
ual rudeness,  and  his  mania  for  aping  Napoleon  in 
his  blunders  and  defects,  which  nothing  in  the 
Prince  could  justify  or  excuse,  together  with  the 
signs  which  shortly  seemed  to  show  how  little  solidity 
there  was  in  the  Restoration,  chilled  their  ardor  for 
the  new  master  of  their  choice." 

Yet  the  princes  had  many  followers,  in  spite  of 
their  imperfections.  As  the  Duchess  of  Abrant^s 
observes :  "  The  Duke  of  Berry  was,  they  said,  the 
worthy  descendant  of  Henri  IV.  Poor  Henri  IV. 
was  ever  present  to  serve  as  a  criterion.  The  distri-* 
bution  of  qualities  was  made  according  to  character. 
The  Duke  of  AngoulSrae  descended  from  Saint  Louis 
because   he   was  a  godly  man ;   the  Duke  of  Berry 


THE  DUKES   OF  ANGOULEME  AND  BERRY     105 

descended  from  Henri  IV.  because  he  had  worldly 
tastes;  and  the  Count  of  Artois  from  Francis  I. 
because  twenty  years  previously  he  had  been  what 
was  called  a  vert-galant^ 

As  the  health  of  Louis  XVIII.  and  the  duties 
which  required  his  presence  at  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment would  not  permit  him  to  visit  the  different 
portions  of  France,  it  was  thought  needful  to  send 
the  princes  there.  In  July  and  August,  the  Duke 
of  Angouleme  went  through  the  west,  the  Count  of 
Artois  through  the  east,  and,  in  September  and  Octo- 
ber, the  Duke  of  Berry  went  northward.  Of  the  three 
princes,  the  Duke  of  Angouleme  produced  the  most 
favorable  impression.  Sensible  people  were  won  by 
his  moderation  and  the  fact  that  he  displayed  no 
aristocratic  prejudices.  He  showed  himself  prudent 
and  conciliating  everywhere.  The  ultra-royalists 
found  him  a  little  lukewarm.  In  his  book,  VendSe 
Militaire,  M.  Cr^tineau-Joly  says,  on  the  road  from 
Cholet  to  Montague,  all  that  were  left  of  the  insur- 
rectionists joined  in  welcoming  the  Prince  with 
enthusiasm.  But  these  warlike  agriculturists  were 
told  that  the  King's  nephew  did  not  wish  to  see 
them  under  arms.  They  piled  their  weapons  at  the 
roadside,  and  then  stepped  back  five  paces.  Sur- 
rounded by  squadrons  of  cavalry,  the  Duke  of 
Angouleme  passed  these  worthy  royalists  without 
his  presence  being  indicated  by  anything  save  a 
cloud  of  dust.  As  they  walked  back  to  their  cot- 
tages  as   sadly   as   if   they  were  returning  from  a 


106  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

funeral,  the  villagei-s  said  to  each  other :  "  Poor 
Prince  !  He  has  been  forbidden  to  say  that  he  loves 
and  esteems  us." 

On  his  part,  the  Duke  of  Berry  wrote  as  follows  to 
M.  Louis  de  La  Rochejaquelein  on  the  21st  of  May: 
"  The  love  of  the  Vend^ans  for  the  King,  which  they 
have  retained  owing  to  you,  gives  me  good  reason  to 
hope  that  the  species  of  ferment  that  seems  to  exist 
in  this  province  will  not  have  any  unpleasant  conse- 
quences. You  will  give  the  brave  and  good  inhabi- 
tants of  Poitou  to  understand  that  zeal  too  ardent 
and  ill-considered  often  occasions  -rs  much  trouble  as 
insubordination.  The  way  in  which  they  demand 
the  repudiation  of  the  civil  authorities  is  unseemly 
and  even  seditious.  These  outcries  against  the  pre- 
fects and  the  gendarmes  have  a  revolutionary  tone, 
and  can  be  the  result  only  of  inconsiderate  zeal,  or 
rather  the  outcome  of  the  intrigues  of  secret  enemies 
of  the  King  and  the  public  good." 

If  the  Duke  of  Angouleme  was  unsatisfactory  to 
the  royalists  of  the  west,  the  Duke  of  Berry  did 
not  produce  a  pleasant  effect  on  the  old  Bonapartists 
of  the  north.  It  is  said  that  at  Lille,  during  a 
review,  an  officer  stepped  from  the  ranks  and  asked 
for  the  cross  of  Saint  Louis.  "  What  have  you  done 
to  deserve  it?"  asked  the  Prince.  "I  have  served 
for  thirty  years  in  the  French  army."  "  Thirty 
years  of  brigandage ! "  exclaimed  the  Duke  of 
Berry,  turning  his  back  on  the  officer.  It  is 
added   that  on   the   next  day  the  Duke   wished  to 


THE  DUKES   OF  ANGOULEME  AND  BERRY     107 

make  amends  for  his  imprudent  speech,  but  it  had 
gone  the  rounds  and  produced  its  effect.  The  sol- 
diers complained  that  the  princes  distributed  the 
cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  during  their  tour  so 
lavishly  as  to  dishonor  it.  They  indignantly  re- 
peated to  each  other  that  when  at  a  ball,  at  the 
prefecture  of  Lille,  a  woman  who  danced  with  the 
Duke  of  Berry  asked  for  her  husband  that  cross 
for  which  so  many  brave  men  had  paid  with  their 
blood,  the  Prince,  without  further  inquiry,  gave 
himself  the  pleasure  of  bestowing  it  on  the  man. 

In  spite  of  his  irregularities,  the  Duke  of  Berry 
possessed  noble  qualities.  His  youthful  escapades 
did  not  prevent  him  from  preserving  his  respect  for 
religion,  and,  although  he  was  not  pious  like  his 
father  and  brother,  he  remained  true  to  the  faith 
of  his  ancestors.  He  loved  France  sincerely  and 
wished  to  see  her  great  and  glorious.  He  was 
regarded  as  the  hope  of  the  Bourbons,  and  people 
looked  forward  with  impatience  to  the  time  when 
he  should  marry  and  perpetuate  his  line.  His  was 
an  energetic  and  intrepid  nature,  and  the  wretch 
Louvel  well  knew,  when  he  smote  the  Duke,  that 
his  knife  was  hewing  down  the  most  vigorous  branch 
of  the  royal  tree.  All  the  faults  of  the  Duke  of 
Berry  were  expiated  by  his  sublime  death.  No  hero, 
no  Christian,  could  have  more  courage  when,  in 
presence  of  the  last  agony,  he  gathered  all  the 
strength  that  was  left  him  to  pardon  his  murderer, 
and  exclaim : "'  Have  mercy,  have  mercy  on  the  man ! " 


XI 


MADAME 

AT  the  outset  of  the  Restoration,  the  royal  fam- 
ily, properly  speaking,  was  composed  of  only 
five  persons,  four  of  whom  were  men,  —  the  King ;  the 
Count  of  Artois ;  his  elder  son,  the  Duke  of  Angou- 
l^me ;  and  his  younger  son,  the  Duke  of  Berry.  There 
was  but  one  woman,  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  (the 
members  of  the  Orleans  and  Condd  families  bore  the 
title  of  princes  and  princesses  of  the  blood,  but  were 
not  members  of  the  royal  family).  Doubly  niece  of 
the  King,  —  by  blood  as  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI., 
and  by  alliance  as  the  wife  of.  the  Duke  of  Angou- 
leme, —  the  Duchess  was  called  Madame  during  the 
reign  of  Louis  XVIIL,  while,  when  Charles  X.  was 
King,  she  was  styled  Madame  la  Dauphine,  and  the 
abbreviation  Madame  served  to  designate  the  Duch- 
ess of  Berry. 

Born  at  Versailles  on  the  19th  of  December,  1778, 
the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  was  thirty-five  years  old 
at  the  commencement  of  the  Restoration.  In  a  pre- 
ceding study  we  have  endeavored  accurately  to  de- 
pict her  escape  from  the  Temple  after  more  than 
three  years  of  captivity,  on  the  19th  of  December, 
108 


MADAME  109 

1795,  the  very  day  on  which  she  became  seventeen 
years  old.  She  was  then  a  charming  young  girl  of 
truly  ideal  beauty.  Since  then  she  had  greatly 
changed.  Her  voice  had  grown  somewhat  coarse, 
and  her  face  somewhat  grave.  Her  features  had 
become  accentuated.  The  valiant  woman  of  the 
Scriptures  had  succeeded  to  the  type  of  the  tender 
and  timid  maiden. 

The  freshness  of  youth  having  departed,  Louis 
XVI.'s  daughter  lost  charm,  but  majesty  still  was 
hers.  Her  presence  at  Paris  produced  at  once  uni- 
versal sympathy  and  veneration.  In  every  class 
of  society,  from  the  greatest  pereonage  to  the  hum- 
blest laborer,  all  recognized  the  features  of  the 
orphan  of  the  Temple.  It  may  be  said  of  this  elect 
lady  that,  even  while  living,  she  became  legend- 
ary. In  looking  upon  her,  every  one,  no  matter 
what  might  be  his  party,  was  touched.  The  only 
fear  was  that  her  austerity  might  prevent  her  from 
attending  fetes  and  appearing  at  theatres  ;  and  there- 
fore the  public  was  delighted  when  it  learned  that 
she  would  be  present  with  the  King  and  princes 
when  gala  pieces  were  played  at  the  royal  theatres. 

"  The  infirmities  of  Louis  XVIIL,"  says  Marshal 
Marmont,  "made  it  difficult  for  him  to  move.  On 
this  account  a  large  box,  easy  of  access,  and  in 
which  he  could  be  comfortable,  was  arranged  for 
him  at  every  place  of  entertainment.  This  contriv- 
ance and  the  brilliancy  of  the  preparations  for  his 
appearance  made  veritable  fetes  of  the  performances. 


110  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANOOULEME 

The  attendance  was  very  large.  The  King's  box 
was  placed  at  the  centre  of  the  first  tier,  was  care- 
fully ornamented,  and  was  large  enough  to  accom- 
modate the  whole  royal  family.  The  King,  Madame 
the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme,  and  the  princes  com- 
monly came  in  a  single  coach  in  which  there  was 
ample  room  for  five  persons." 

The  performance  given  at  the  Opera  on  the  17th 
of  May,  1814,  was,  so  to  speak,  the  apotheosis  of  the 
daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette.  The 
play  was  (Edipe  d  Colone  in  which  the  principal 
female  character  is  Antigone.  On  seeing  Ducis 
again,  the  King  quoted  the  following  four  lines  from 
the  tragic  poet :  — 

"  Yes,  thou  through  every  coming  age  shalt  prove 
The  perfect  symbol  of  true  filial  love ; 
Long  as  unhappy  fathers  shall  remain, 
Thy  name  shall  solace  them  in  every  pain." 

And  the  King  added :  "  You  can  certainly  divine 
who  is  the  Antigone  to  whom  I  have  often  quoted 
those  verses.  They  are  worthy  of  her ;  I  can  make 
no  finer  encomium  upon  her."  "  The  New  Antig- 
one" came  to  be  the  sobriquet  of  Louis  XVIIi.'s 
niece,  and  the  drama  played  at  the  Opera  gave  rise 
to  many  allusions  to  the  devotion  and  filial  affection 
of  the  Princess. 

All  the  boxes  were  secured  three  weeks  in  ad- 
vance. Only  tickets  for  the  parterre  and  gallery 
were  to  be  had,  and  tickets  and  other  cards  giving 


MADAME  111 


admission  only  to  the  corridors  were  sold  for  fabu- 
lous prices  at  the  door.  At  five  o'clock  a  great 
multitude  thronged  to  the  theatre,  although  it  was 
known  that  only  a  few  seats  could  be  bought. 
Hardly  a  twentieth  part  of  the  crowd  could  gain 
admittance.  The  Duchess  of  Abrantes,  who  was 
present  at  this  representation,  afterward  said  :  "  The 
hall  itself  was  an  extraordinary  spectacle :  the 
women  wore  no  diamonds  and  were  all  dressed  in 
white.  Their  only  ornaments  were  plumes,  sprigs 
of  lily,  and  bunches  and  garlands  of  white  lilac. 
All  the  bouquets  were  white  ;  the  hall  was  enchant- 
ing, adorned  as  it  was  with  flowers  and  women. 
There  was  about  it  an  elegance  for  which  I  could 
not  at  first  account,  and  which  I  afterwards  ex- 
plained by  that  gracious  hue,  white,  and  the  perfume 
of  the  budding  year  which  penetrated  everywhere." 
Just  as  the  curtain  rose,  the  King,  followed  by  his 
family,  appeared  in  his  box,  and  was  greeted  with 
acclamations  and  a  flourish  of  trumpets.  The  play 
abounded  with  allusions,  for  which  the  public  waited 
impatiently,  and  which  they  seized  upon  with  enthu- 
siasm.    This  was  the  case,  for  example,  with  these 

lines :  — 

"  Thou  august  victim  of  mischance  and  woe, 
End  the  regrets  ■within  thy  heart  that  burn, 
The  soul  that  naught  but  innocence  doth  know 

To  brave  the  face  of  Fortune  still  should  learn. 
Possess  thy  soul  in  peace,  the  while  we  prove 

By  that  most  jealous  care  we'll  show  for  thee 
That  thou  alone  shalt  be  our  liege  and  love,  — 
Our  zealous  care,  that  of  Autigone." 


112  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

At  the  name  of  Antigone,  the  King,  somewhat 
anticipating  the  emotion  of  the  spectators,  and  turn- 
ing to  his  niece,  who  sat  beside  him,  for  a  long  time 
mingled  his  plaudits  with  those  of  the  public.  Cries 
of  "  Long  live  the  King !  Long  live  Madame  the 
Duchess  of  Angouleme ! "  resounded  through  the 
hall.     The  beautiful  air  which  begins  thus  :  — 

"  On  me  she  lavished  her  tenderness  and  care  " 

was  tumultuously  encored. 

During  the  entr'acte  the  orchestra  played  the  tune 
"  Vive  Henri  IV. ! "  which  was  sung  in  chorus  by  the 
whole  assembly.  The  spectacle  ended  with  a  new 
ballet  by  Gardel,  in  which  the  two  fashionable 
dancers,  Mademoiselle  Bigottini  and  Mademoiselle 
Clotilde,  appeared,  always  to  the  air  of  "  Vive  Henri 
IV. ! "  The  re-birth  of  the  lily,  and  the  return  of 
peace,  were  represented  in  a  clever  allegory,  in  which 
the  favorite  dances  of  the  various  nations  of  Europe 
were  introduced. 

"  This  representation,"  said  the  Duchess  of  Abran- 
t^s,  "  was  more  serviceable  than  might  have  been 
expected.  It  had  been  reported  that  Madame  would 
not  attend  the  theatre,  and  the  announcement  of 
such  a  rupture  with  the  fashionable  world  had 
done  her  much  harm.  Madame  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme  was  gracious,  though  melancholy,  on 
that  day,  and  this  melancholy  impressed  on  one 
who  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  the  living  God  every 
resentment  and  every  remembrance  of  affront,  was 


MADAME  113 


a  sentiment  at  least  permissible  in  a  woman  who 
mourned  for  those  whom  she  had  lost  by  a  death 
more  frightful  than  death  itself." 

In  spite  of  the  ovations  she  received,  the  daughter 
of  Louis  XVI.  was  profoundly  sad  at  heart,  and  neither 
flatteries  nor  so-called  pleasures  could  dispel  her  grief. 
She  attended  fetes  and  spectacles  only  from  a  sense 
of  duty.  Her  return  to  the  Tuileries,  far  from 
assuaging  her  sorrows,  had  brought  them  more 
vividly  before  her.  Upon  entering  this  chateau, 
the  Count  of  Artois  and  Louis  XVIII.  were  in  a 
triumphant  mood,  and  filled  with  thoughts  of  gran- 
deur and  satisfied  ambition.  Intoxicated  with  hap- 
piness, the  Count  of  Artois  went  into  ecstasies 
over  the  luxuriousness  of  the  palace,  adorned  and 
embellished  by  Napoleon.  On  seeing  the  walls  of 
which  he  had  so  often  thought  during  the  long  hours 
of  his  exile,  the  King  congratulated  himself  upon 
the  success  of  his  enterprises.  On  the  contrary,  the 
daughter  of  the  martyred  King  and  Queen  seemed  to 
herself  to  be  surrounded  by  mournful  phantoms  and 
scenes.  When  she  looked  upon  the  court  of  the 
Carrousel,  she  dreamed  of  the  10th  of  August  and 
the  massacre  of  the  Swiss.  On  the  balcony  of  the 
Hall  of  Marshals  overlooking  the  garden  she  dreaded 
to  look  before  her,  for  in  the  distance  appeared  the 
square  of  the  crime,  that  unhappy  square  which, 
all  through  the  Restoration,  she  refused  to  cross. 
When  she  paced  the  large  apartments,  she  passed 
the  spot  where  pikemen  placed  the  red  cap  on  the 


114  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

heads  of  the  King  and  the  Dauphin.  The  chambers 
of  her  father,  her  mother,  and  her  brother  were  to 
her  so  many  sanctuaries  which  she  hardly  dared  to 
enter.  She  lodged  in  the  Pavilion  of  Flora,  where 
her  aunt,  Madame  Elisabeth,  resided  from  the  6th 
of  October,  1789,  to  the  10th  of  August,  1792. 
Thoughts  of  this  saint  constantly  occupied  her  mind. 
In  reading  the  correspondence  of  Madame  Elisabeth, 
—  those  really  admirable  letters  in  which  much  reli- 
gion blends  with  so  much  resolution,  —  one  perceives 
that  the  tastes,  the  ideas,  the  sentiments,  and  the 
principles  of  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  were  on 
every  subject  entirely  the  same  as  those  of  her  aunt. 
Never  was  pupil  better  fashioned  in  the  image  of  her 
instructress.  The  lessons  that  the  sister  of  Louis 
XVI.  had  given  to  the  young  girl  in  the  dungeon  of 
the  Temple  were  never  forgotten  by  the  woman  at 
the  Tuileries.  Upon  the  occurrence  of  any  political 
event,  the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  said  to  herself : 
How  would  this  be  looked  upon  by  my  aunt  Elisa- 
beth? And  at  once  a  secret  voice  answered  the 
question  thus  put. 

It  is  easily  understood  that  a  woman  habituated 
to  thoughts  so  grave  and  meditations  so  austere 
would  have  no  inclination  for  the  distractions,  triv- 
ialities, meannesses  and  intrigues  of  the  court. 
The  proceedings  of  the  government,  besides,  dis- 
pleased her  in  many  respects.  Doubtless  she  did 
not  deem  a  reconstitution  of  the  old  regime  possi- 
ble.    Her  husband,   with   whom  she  lived   in   per- 


MADAME  115 


feet  community  of  ideas,  was  looked  upon  almost 
as  a  liberal.  He  encouraged  neither  the  Utopian 
opinions  of  the  ultra-Catholics  nor  the  exaggerated 
zeal  of  the  ultra-royalists.  Like  him,  she  held  the 
red  and  the  white  Terror  in  equal  aversion.  She  did 
full  justice  to  the  heroic  qualities  of  the  lieutenants 
of  Napoleon,  and  her  courtesy  to  them  was  never 
less  than  perfect.  But  she  had  a  horror  of  treason, 
apostasy,  recantation,  and  baseness.  She  did  not 
feel  at  home  at  the  Tuileries,  since  she  saw  about 
the  King  men  who,  in  her  opinion,  were  out  of 
place  there.  For  example,  she  could  not  admit 
that  the  man  who  had  been  Bonaparte's  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  when  the  Duke  of  Enghien  was 
assassinated,  and  who  had  given  a  ball  to  the  diplo- 
matic corps  three  days  after  the  murder,  ought  to  be 
Louis  XVIII.'s  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  It 
pained  her  to  see  that  the  Restoration,  so  long 
and  ardently  desired  by  the  royalists,  was  chiefly 
beneficial  to  men  who  were  once  enemies  of  the 
throne  and  altar. 

The  talk  at  court  seemed  to  her  objectless,  super- 
ficial, and  little  in  keeping  with  the  unhappy  state 
of  affairs.  She  could  have  wished  for  a  graver, 
a  more  moral,  and  a  more  religious  society.  Preach- 
ing by  example,  she  afforded  only  edificatioL  by 
her  piety  as  well  as  by  her  charity,  and  she  liked  no- 
body whose  morals  were  not  absolutely  irreproachable. 
The  Bishop  of  Nancy  was  her  first  aimoner:  his 
assistants  were  the  Abb6  Grimaldi  and  the  Ahh6  de 


116  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

Vichy;  her  chaplain  was  the  Abb^  Cacqueray;  her 
lady-in-waiting,  the  Duchess  of  S^rent;  her  lady- 
in-waiting  in  reversion,  the  Countess  of  Damas ;  and 
her  tiring-woman,  the  Countess  of  Choisy.  As  ladies- 
in-attendance,  she  had  the  Countess  of  B^arn,  the 
Countess  of  Gontaut-Biron,  Marchioness  de  Saint- 
Maure,  Viscountess  de  Vaudreuil,  the  Countess  of 
Goyon,  and  Marchioness  de  Roug^.  Her  gentleman- 
in-waiting  was  Viscount  de  Montmorency ;  her  chief 
equerry,  Viscount  d'Agoult;  and  her  commander 
of  the  horse,  Count  de  Lastours.  She  confided  in 
the  few  persons  whom  she  honored  with  her  special 
esteem,  but  the  high-flown  and  almost  idolatrous 
flattery  of  which  too  zealous  courtiers  sought  to 
make  her  the  object  seemed  intolerable  to  her.  Sh6 
understood  the  liuman  heart  thoroughly  and  recog- 
nized at  once  what  was  false  and  selfish  in  the 
protestations  of  devotion  that  were  lavished  upon 
her.  Past  apostasies  gave  her  a  presentiment  ol 
those  which  were  to  come.  What  made  her  little 
pleasing  to  the  courtiers  was  that,  notwithstanding 
her  civility,  they  saw  perfectly  well  that  she  was 
not  the  dupe  of  their  flattery.  Deeply  sincere  and 
always  simple-hearted,  she  despised  factitious  and 
theatrical  emotions.  As  M.  Louis  de  Viel-Castel 
remarks:  "She  had  passed  through  realities  too 
terrible  to  allow  her  to  acquire  a  taste  for  those 
romantic  encomiums  which  her  misfortunes  inspired 
in  the  poets  and  orators  of  her  time." 

In   character   as   in   physique   she   resembled  her 


MADAME  117 


father  much  more  than  her  mother.  She  had 
neither  the  irresistible  magnetism  nor  the  surpass- 
ing elegance  of  Marie  Antoinette.  She  felt  a  strong 
antipathy  against  a  fashionable  life  and  a  frivolous 
society  like  that  of  the  Petit-Trianon.  Her  tastes 
were  those  of  a  nun  rather  than  a  princess.  M. 
de  Vaulabelle  said  of  her :  "  Her  character  was 
masculine  and  firm,  and  her  courage,  submitted  to  the 
harshest  trials,  was  always  equal  to  the  situation. 
A  devoted  relative,  a  steadfast  and  trusty  friend, 
and  endowed  with  all  the  virtues  that  go  to  make 
up  an  honored  wife,  she  possessed  much  benevolence 
and  goodness  of  heart,  whatever  has  been  said  to 
the  contrary.  Unfortunately,  her  awkward  bearing 
and  her  rough  and  heavy  voice  rendered  all  her 
movements  and  her  slightest  expressions  disagree- 
able;  every  word  she  uttered  gave  a  galling  tone 
of  severity  to  her  voice.  It  was  only  the  habitual 
sombreness  which  a  long  life  of  sorrow  had  impressed 
on  her  face  that  gave  it,  in  the  eyes  of  the  multi- 
tude, an  expression  of  haughtiness  and  disdain." 
Frivolous  people  would  have  liked  to  see  her 
joyous,  gay,  and  smiling  when  the  very  utmost 
that  she  could  do  was  to  repress  the  tears  that 
rose  to  her  eyes  and  keep  down  the  sobs  that  op- 
pressed her  breast.  While  everybody  about  her 
forgot,  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  remembered. 
Grave,  self-collected,  and  austere,  she  watched  over 
the  memories  hidden  in  the  deepest  recesses  of  her 
heart.     To   lay  her  afflictions   before    the    eyes    of 


118  TEE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

courtiers  seemed  to  her  a  profanation.  To  her, 
silence  was  a  species  of  modesty.  The  gushings 
and  trickeries  of  sentiment  were  repugnant  to  her. 
Many  persons  would  have  liked  to  hear  her  tell 
the  story  of  the  days  she  had  passed  in  the  Temple 
as  an  actress  declaims  her  part.  She  never  grati- 
fied their  wish.  To  God  alone  she  told  her  sorrows. 
One  of  her  contemporaries,  M.  Fidv<ie  exclaimed  : 
"  Can  she  regard  the  judgment  of  men  or  attach 
the  least  value  to  it?  Has  not  this  intrepid  soul 
been  led  to  look  on  God  alone  as  its  judge?  It  is 
said  she  is  not  gay,  is  not  confident,  has  forgotten 
nothing ;  upon  returning  from  exile  her  manners 
recall  the  country  where  slie  found  the  hospitality 
which  was  refused  her  by  her  own.  Ah !  if  she 
were  light-minded,  if  she  were  imprudent,  if  in  her 
eyes  there  were  no  distinction  between  crime  and' 
virtue,  between  treachery  and  fidelity ;  if  she  were 
not  religious  ;  if  her  experiences  had  not  profoundly 
affected  her ;  if,  before  she  knew  you,  she  had,  fol- 
lowing a  natural  bent,  sacrificed  to  the  frivolities 
that  to  you  seem  so  important,  you  would  find 
her  more  worthy  of  your  love  and  respect,  and 
would  rely  upon  her  more,  simply  because  her  whole 
being  would  be  contrary  to  the  moral  laws  of  Provi- 
dence." 

Although  the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  was  but 
little  pleasing  to  the  courtiers,  she  made  a  strong 
impression  on  the  masses  whenever  she  appeared 
in  public.     On  the  12th  of  June,  1814,  which  was 


MADAME  119 


the  day  of  Corpus  Christi,  she  attracted  universal 
attention  when  she  appeared  on  the  balcony  of  the  Hall 
of  the  Marshals.  On  that  day,  in  all  the  parishes  of 
the  capital,  great  crowds  of  the  faithful  joined  the 
priests  in  the  procession  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
The  inhabitants  adorned  the  fronts  of  their  houses 
with  tapestries,  hangings,  and  decorations  in  which 
religious  emblems  were  intermingled  with  those  of 
monarchy ;  for  the  partisans  of  the  throne  and  altar 
did  not  sunder  God  and  king.  ^National  guards, 
troops  of  the  line,  and  Paris  guards,  preceded 
and  closed  the  procession.  Altars  glittering  with 
gold  and  covered  with  flowers  stood  at  various 
places.  While  the  processions  were  entering  the 
churches,  an  immense  mass  of  people  was  at  the 
chateau  of  the  Tuileries,  awaiting  in  the  garden 
the  moment  when  the  King  and  his  family  should 
come  from  Mass  and  appear  on  the  balcony.  When 
the  people  caught  sight  of  the  Duchess  of  Angou- 
leme,  they  were  enthusiastic.  They  said  to  them- 
selves :  "  This  is  a  fete  after  her  own  heart." 

In  June,  the  Princess  was  forced  by  the  state  of 
her  health  to  take  the  waters  at  Vichy,  and  her  jour- 
ney to  that  place  was  a  continuous  ovation.  We 
quote  from  the  Moniteur  passages  which  show  the 
feeling  of  the  day  very  well. 

"Vichy,  June  29.  —  Madame,  the  Duchess  of  An- 
gouleme,  has  arrived  and  been  warmly  welcomed  by 
the  local  authorities  and  the  multitude  that  gathered 
to  see   her  pass  by.     She  received  everybody  with 


120  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULJ^ME 

infinite  grace  and  kindliness  and  drew  all  hearts  to 
her.     She  is  very  careful  to  hurt  no  one's  feelings." 

"  July  15.  —  The  Duchess  of  Angouleme  continues 
to  make  salutary  use  of  the  waters  of  this  place. 
Her  health  has  singularly  improved.  Her  Royal 
Highness  walks  out  frequently  and  makes  excursions 
into  the  neighboring  rural  districts,  during  which  her 
ready  charity  and  great  beneficence  secure  for  her 
the  acknowledgment  of  the  local  authorities  and  the 
blessings  of  the  unfortunate." 

"  July  19.  —  It  is  hoped  that  the  waters  of  Vichy 
will  respond  to  the  prayers  of  all  the  French  people, 
who  implore  Heaven  for  the  complete  restoration  of 
their  tutelary  angel.  Since  the  arrival  of  Her  Royal 
Highness,  Vichy  has  assumed  the  appearance  of  a 
populous  city.  Every  day  witnesses  the  arrival  of 
numerous  deputations,  not  only  from  the  department 
of  AUier,  but  from  all  departments.  From  noon  till 
one  o'clock,  which  is  the  hour  at  which  Madame 
receives  the  respects  that  they  are  so  anxious  to  pay 
her,  she  frequently  sees  fifty  or  sixty  persons  who 
lay  at  her  feet  the  vows  and  the  homage  of  the  cities 
and  communes  which  they  represent.  Sometimes 
the  spokesmen  are  overcome  by  emotion.  One  of 
them,  in  despair  of  being  able  to  say  a  word,  fell 
sobbing  at  the  Princess's  feet  and  begged  pardon  for 
being  unable  to  deliver  his  address.  Bidding  him 
rise,  Madame  said  in  a  voice  that  showed  how  greatly 
she  was  touched:  'Why  do  you  regret  that  you 
cannot  speak  to  me  ?    What  better  could  you  say  ? ' 


MADAME  121 


Every  word  of  Madame's  bears  the  impress  of  pene- 
trating insight  and  of  that  close  perception  of  things 
which  causes  them  to  appear  in  their  true  light." 

On  the  19th  of  July,  the  guard  of  honor  from 
Moulins  came  to  Vichy,  and  thereafter  it  constantly 
accompanied  Madame  to  divine  service  and  when  she 
went  out  for  an  airing.  Among  the  deputations,  that 
from  the  inhabitants  of  the  mountains,  the  members 
of  which  were  dressed  entirely  in  white,  attracted 
special  attention.  "  They,"  adds  the  Moniteur,  "  ad- 
dressed Madame  with  so  true  and  touching  a  feeling 
that  they  left  the  presence  bathed  in  tears  and  caus- 
ing everybody  to  share  their  emotion.  As  they  with- 
drew they  pressed  to  their  hearts  the  decoration  of 
the  fleur-de-lis  which  Her  Royal  Highness  had  kindly 
given  them." 

Let  us  read  further  the  account  sent  by  the  corre- 
spondent of  the  Moniteur :  — 

"  Vichy,  August  3,  1814.  —  Madame,  the  Duchess 
of  Angouleme,  left  this  morning,  after  having  filled 
with  joy  and  happiness  all  who  have  seen  and  had 
access  to  her.  Wherever  she  goes,  she  excites  the 
same  feelings.  In  her  the  angel  of  the  reconciliation 
of  past  and  present  wins  admiration.  Her  journey  is 
a  triumphal  progress." 

The  Princess  goes  from  Vichy  to  Lyons.  There  is 
a  fete  champetre  in  even  the  rural  districts  through 
which  she  passes.  She  seems  to  take  her  way  only 
over  hills  of  verdure  and  a  carpet  of  flowers.  Lyons 
awaits  her  with  impatience.     The  city  wishes  to  give 


122  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

her  a  fete ;  commerce  claims  the  same  honor ;  the 
national  guard  aspires  to  take  the  lead  in  all;  the 
citizens  of  the  Bellecour  quarter  demand  the  prefer- 
ence. In  zeal  and  enthusiasm  there  is  common  emu- 
lation. On  Saturday,  the  6th  of  August,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Louis  XVI.  enters  the  walls  of  Lyons.  Tri- 
umphal arches  have  been  erected  along  her  way.  A 
troop  of  young  girls,  dressed  all  in  white,  presents 
her  with  flowers.  Marshal  Augereau,  Duke  of  Cas- 
tiglione,  —  Augereau,  once  an  ardent  republican, 
Augereau,  the  man  of  the  18th  Fructidor,  — has  gone 
past  Ecully  to  meet  her.  At  the  faubourg  of  Vaise, 
at  the  Pyramid,  another  triumphal  arch  appears.  In 
a  semicircle  is  an  amphitheatre  adorned  with  ladies 
elegantly  dressed.  The  streets,  the  bridges,  the  pub- 
lic squares,  the  quays  along  which  the  Princess  is  to 
pass,  have  been  decorated  with  white  draperies  and 
festoons  of  grasses.  She  advances  slowly  in  an  open 
carriage  drawn  by  six  white  horses,  and  salutes  the 
crowd  affably  and  with  emotion.  On  the  Pont  de 
Change  she  sees  an  Ionic  temple  bearing  tliis  inscrip- 
tion :  "  Love  to  Madame."  As  she  passes  the  tem- 
ple, the  dooi-s  are  flung  open  and  she  sees  the  flame 
on  the  tripods.  The  porters  of  tlie  temple,  dressed 
as  at  the  famous  siege  of  Lyons,  pay  their  respects  to 
the  Princess.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  there 
are  fine  fireworks  on  the  Pont  du  Bois,  before  the 
Archbishop's  palace.  Immediately  afterwards  the 
city  is  illuminated  as  if  by  magic. 

On  the  7th  of  August,  the  Princess  attends  solemn 


MADAME  12b 

Mass  in  the  primatical  church  of  Saint-Jean.  On 
the  same  day,  at  the  desire  of  the  city,  she  drives 
along  the  Sa6ne  as  far  as  the  isle  Barbe.  She  goes 
in  a  coach  to  the  harbor  of  Serin,  passing  the  square 
Louis-le-Grand.  In  the  middle  of  this  square  an 
open  octagonal  temple,  consecrated  to  the  Bourbon 
family,  has  been  constructed  on  the  spot  where  the 
statue  of  Louis  XIV.  once  stood.  Medallions  of 
Saint  Louis,  Henri  IV.,  Louis  XIIL,  Louis  XIV., 
Louis  XV.,  Louis  XVI.,  Louis  XVII.,  and  Louis 
XVIII.  adorned  the  various  sides  of  the  temple.  In 
the  centre  of  this  sanctuary  of  royalty  appears  an 
altar  covered  with  an  offering  of  flowers.  At  the 
HotSl  de  Ville,  on  the  great  balcony  of  the  side 
overlooking  the  square  des  Terreaux,  is  a  design 
representing  the  city  of  Lyons,  in  the  form  of  a 
woman  whose  head  is  adorned  with  a  mural  crown, 
and  who  holds  in  her  hands  a  portrait  of  Louis 
XVIII.  These  lines  from  Delille's  poem  called 
PitiS  are  on  the  pedestal :  — 

"  Tn  exile  drear,  and  in  adversity, 
Still  wast  thou  here  to  my  fidelity." 

When  the  harbor  of  Serin  is  reached,  the  Duchess 
of  Angouleme  enters  a  boat  adorned  with  the  city 
arras,  and  accompanied  by  two  other  boats  beauti- 
fully decorated,  and  in  which  are  the  authorities  and 
the  persons  invited  to  take  part  in  the  procession. 
A  vessel  with  an  orchestra  on  board  follows  the 
flotilla.     The  Sa6ne  is  hidden  in  the  jjreat  number 


124  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

of  gondolas.  The  weather  is  magnificent.  When 
they  land  at  the  isle  Barbe,  the  mayor,  in  his  oration, 
speaks  of  four  epochs  memorable  on  the  island:  it 
was  the  refuge  of  early  Christians  in  the  days  of 
persecution;  there  Charlemagne  established  the  first 
library ;  Pius  VII.  visited  the  place  ;  and  now  the 
daughter  of  the  martyred  King  honored  it  with  her 
presence. 

When  they  re-embark  they  hear  the  cry :  "  Fare- 
well, Madame ! "  The  sun  no  longer  shines  on  the 
hilltops.  In  the  evening,  the  Princess  goes  to  the 
Grand  Theatre  of  Lyons,  where  she  sees  a  play  com- 
posed for  the  occasion  and  entitled  Fete  du  Bon- 
heur.  The  public  seize  with  transport  upon  the 
allusions  in  it.  All  the  houses  are  illuminated  as 
on  the  foregoing  evening. 

On  Monday,  the  8th  of  August,  Madame  was  at 
the  plain  of  Brotteaux  to  see  a  review  of  the 
horse  and  foot  national  guards,  the  13th  dragoons 
and  the  24th  of  the  line.  At  the  entrance  to 
the  bridge  on  the  city  side  was  a  verdure-clad 
triumphal  arch  bearing  warlike  emblems.  At  the 
summit  was  this  inscription:  "The  Road  to  the 
Field  of  Honor."  A  shield  surrounded  with  mili- 
tary trophies  bore  this  device :  "  Our  Blood  has 
flowed  for  the  King."  On  another  shield  was  this 
second  device :  "  The  Siege  sustained  for  sixty-three 
days  in  the  year  1793."  The  Princess  drove  through 
the  lines  in  the  midst  of  vivas;  then  the  troops 
defiled    before    her.      After    the    review    Marshal 


MADAME  125 


Augereau  invited  her  to  breakfast.  "  It  is  not  on 
the  fine  appearance  of  the  troops  that  I  wish  to 
congratulate  you,"  said  she  to  the  marshal.  "  It  is  on 
the  spirit  that  animates  them.  I  shall  tell  it  all  to 
the  King,  but  I  fear  he  will  be  jealous  of  the  pleasure 
I  have  had." 

Upon  her  return,  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  found 
the  streets  and  quays  ornamented  with  white  draper- 
ies and  garlands  of  flowers.  In  the  evening  she 
attended  the  fete  of  Commerce  and  Arts  which  was 
given  in  her  honor  at  the  palace  of  Saint-Pierre. 
After  the  concert,  she  went  to  see  the  exhibition  of 
silk  stuffs  that  had  been  mounted  for  her  in  one  of 
the  rooms  of  this  palace.  The  workmen  wrought 
under  her  eyes  a  brocaded  tissue  upon  which,  when 
it  was  shown,  she  recognized  her  own  features  most 
faithfully  reproduced.  Afterwards  she  witnessed  the 
ball  that  followed  the  concert,  and,  before  withdraw- 
ing, she  descended  to  the  garden,  where  she  moved 
about  amid  general  applause.  People  had  come  to 
Lyons  for  twenty  leagues  about,  to  join  in  the  mag- 
nificent rejoicings.  Despite  her  experience  of  human 
vicissitudes,  the  orphan  of  the  Temple  never  sus- 
pected that,  a  few  montlis  subsequently,  she  would 
be  forced  to  begin  once  more  her  life  of  exile.  On 
the  13th  of  August  she  set  out  for  Paris  without 
having  for  an  instarft  been  intoxicated  by  the  odor  of 
the  incense  which  during  the  whole  of  her  trip  had 
been  burned  before  her. 

At  the  time  when  the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  was 


126  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

taking  the  waters  at  Vichy,  another  princess,  whose 
name  was  on  every  lip  a  few  weeks  before,  and  about 
whom  no  one  was  concerned,  was  taking  the  waters 
of  the  Aix-en-Savoie.  It  was  said  in  the  Journal  des 
DShats  :  "  Aix-les-Bains,  July  18  (Mont  Blanc). — 
The  concourse  of  strangers  at  the  waters  of  the  Aix 
is  very  considerable.  The  Archduchess  Marie  Louise 
arrived  yesterday,  the  17th.  Since  many  apartments 
had  been  reserved  for  Her  Highness,  it  was  supposed 
that  she  would  have  a  large  following.  For  a  long 
time  we  have  had  no  weather  so  fine  and  suitable  for 
bathing."  Savoy  was  as  yet  a  part  of  France,  and 
the  little  town  of  Aix-les-Bains  was  comprised  in  the 
French  department  of  Mont  Blanc,  whose  chief  city 
was  Chamb<^ry.  Four  months  previously,  Marie 
Louise  had  been  its  ruler.  She  went  there  now 
merely  as  a  private  person,  save  that  her  domestics 
still  wore  the  imperial  livery.  To  understand  the 
fact  that  she  was  authorized  to  live  in  this  way  under 
the  reign  of  the  Bourbons  and  in  her  old  Empire,  it 
must  be  considered  how  little  she  was  devoted  to  her 
husband.  She  was,  besides,  entirely  forgotten.  It 
was  to  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  that  the  general 
attention  of  France  was  then  directed. 

Beyond  question  there  was  some  exaggeration  in  the 
encomiums  which  at  that  time  were  lavished  in  j^rofu- 
sion  on  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  Those  dithyrambs 
showed  marks  of  the  declamatory  tone  which  was  as 
fashionable  under  the  Restoration  as  it  had  been 
under  the  Empire.     But  the  virtuous  Princess  really 


MADAME  127 

deserved  distinguished  praise,  for  in  the  highest 
degree  she  was  precisely  what  Marie  Louise  was  no 
longer,  —  a  woman  devoted  to  duty.  Louis  XVIII. 
often  sought  the  advice  of  his  niece.  Napoleon  said 
of  her,  that  she  was  the  only  man  in  her  family.  In 
truth,  she  possessed  great  elevation  of  mind,  great 
generosity  of  heart,  and  a  most  courageous  char- 
acter. 

Certainly  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  may  have 
deceived  herself,  but  the  policy  which  she  would 
have  caused  to  prevail  would  under  all  circumstances 
have  been  the  policy  of  virtue  and  honor.  She  had 
the  energy  of  her  grandmother,  Maria  Theresa,  that 
powerful-minded  woman  to  whom  the  Hungarians 
cried  out :  Moriamur  pro  rege  nostra.  Taught  in  the 
school  of  adversity,  she  understood  better  than  any- 
body else  how  to  guard  herself  against  the  snares  of 
flattery.  In  the  darkest  of  their  days,  Louis  XVIII. 
and  the  Count  of  Artois  were  always  surrounded  by 
courtiers.  Even  in  exile  they  lived  the  life  of  courts, 
in  palaces  with  chamberlains,  favorites,  and  office- 
seekers.  The  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  on  the  other 
hand,  having  known  prison  life,  and  been  submitted 
to  the  rigor  and  loneliness  of  prison  rule,  had  learned 
how  very  hard  are  adversity  and  captivity.  No 
woman  of  the  people  had  been  more  harshly  treated, 
or  had  suffered  more  cruelly.  That  experience  gave 
her  her  power. 

In  studying  the  virile  character  of  this  woman, 
one  is  sometimes  forced  to  regret,  on  her  account. 


128  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL&ME 

that  France  should  have  been  governed  according 
to  the  Salic  law.  Perhaps  the  orphan  of  the  Tem- 
ple would  have  made  a  better  sovereign  than 
either  of  her  uncles.  It  is  said  that  she  strongly- 
disliked  the  defects  of  the  Restoration,  and  was 
opposed  to  the  ordinances  that  caused  the  downfall 
of  Charles  X.  However  that  may  be,  the  grand- 
daughter of  Maria  Theresa  possessed  qualities  that 
fitted  her  to  be  a  ruler.  Her  conduct  at  Bordeaux 
during  the  Hundred  Days  showed  her  presence  of 
mind  and  the  vigor  of  her  character.  She  was  a 
bold  horsewoman,  and  could  have  reviewed  troops 
better  than  Louis  XVIIT.  There  was  not  a  single 
French  soldier  who  would  not  have  respected  a  sov- 
ereign possessing  the  virtues  and  the  decision  of 
character  that  marked  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI. 
There  was  no  necessity  that  she,  who  already  bore 
the  crown  of  sorrow  and  misfortune,  should  be 
crowned  at  the  cathedral  at  Rheims.  If,  instead  of 
being  a  princess  without  influence,  she  had  been  the 
real  queen  of  France,  perhaps  Napoleon  would  have 
hesitated  to  return  from  the  island  of  Elba. 


XII 


THE  ORLEANS   FAMILY 


THE  Duke  of  Orleans  had  not  yet  come  to  Paris 
when  Louis  XVIII.  made  his  triumphal  entry. 
Instead  of  following  the  example  of  the  Count  of 
Artois  and  the  Duke  of  Angouleme,  who  returned  to 
France  before  the  abdication  of  the  Emperor,  he 
remained  at  Palermo  with  his  family  under  the 
protection  of  his  father-in-law,  King  Ferdinand  IV., 
awaiting  events.  On  the  23d  of  April,  1814,  the 
news  of  the  Restoration  reached  Sicily  by  the 
English  vessel  Ahoukir.  The  Duke  of  Orleans, 
abruptly  entering  his  wife's  room,  exclaimed  :  "  Bon- 
aparte's day  is  over,  Louis  XVIII.  is  re-established 
on  the  throne,  and  I  am  about  to  set  out  in  an 
English  vessel  that  has  been  sent  to  carry  me  back 
to  France."  Husband  and  wife  threw  themselves 
into  each  other's  arms.  The  Duke  then  went  to 
the  Colli  palace,  where  his  father-in-law,  the  King 
of  the  Two  Sicilies,  could  not  restrain  himself  for 
joy.  "  Faccia  in  terra,  per  ringraziare  Dio !  "  cried 
the  chief  of  the  house  of  the  Neapolitan  Bourbons, 
prostrating  himself  to  render  thanks  to  God. 

129 


130  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

Nevertheless,  the  Duke  of  Orleans  was,  perhaps, 
not  certain  as  to  the  reception  that  Louis  XVIII. 
might  give  him.  He  desired,  however,  personally 
to  see  how  the  land  lay  and  to  go  to  Paris  without 
his  family,  intending  to  return  to  Palermo  and 
fetch  them,  should  he  be  satisfied  with  the  treat- 
ment he  received  from  Louis  XVIII.  On  the  1st 
of  May,  1814,  which  was  the  day  of  the  feast  of 
his  patron,  Saint  Philip,  he  embarked  at  the  port 
of  Palermo  on  the  Ahoukir^  and  his  Duchess, 
who  was  a  very  pious  woman,  congratulated  her- 
self upon  the  date  of  her  husband's  departure, 
which  seemed  to  her  to  be  a  happy  presage  for  the 
voyage. 

The  Duke  of  Orleans  reached  Paris  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  17th  of  May.  Instead  of  taking  immedi- 
ate possession  of  the  Palais  Royal,  his  ancestral 
home,  he  went  quietly  to  the  hotel  Grange  Bate- 
lidre.  His  first  visit  was  to  the  Kingf.  On  the 
29th  of  May,  the  day  on  which  the  Empress  Jose- 
phine died  at  Malmaison,  the  Duke  went  to  the 
Tuileries,  where  the  King,  with  his  own  hands,  be- 
stowed on  him  the  decoration  of  Saint  Louis.  The 
Journal  des  DShats  gives  the  following  account  of 
the  ceremony  of  investiture  :  "  The  King  stood  with 
drawn  sword  in  his  hand,  while  the  Duke  knelt 
before  His  Majesty.  The  King  gave  him  the  acco- 
lade in  the  customary  forms  of  chivalry.  When 
His  Majesty  raised  the  Duke  in  order  to  embrace 
him,  His  Highness  bowed  and  respectfully  kissed 
His  Majesty's  hand." 


THE  ORLEANS  FAMILY  131 

The  Duchess  of  Aiigouleme  was  well  disposed 
toward  a  prince  whose  wife,  a  niece  of  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, was  her  cousin-german.  On  the  1st  of  June, 
she  visited  the  beautiful  gardens  of  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  at  Monceaux. 

The  Duke,  perfectly  satisfied  in  regard  to  the 
amicable  intentions  of  the  King,  installed  himself 
at  the  Palais  Royal.  He  at  once  became  popular. 
The  Debats  of  date  June  7,  1814,  contains  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  Monseigneur,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  first 
prince  of  the  blood,  has  occupied  the  Palais  Royal 
for  several  days.  Yesterday,  while  leaving  the  pal- 
ace at  noon,  he  was  greeted  with  applause  by  a 
large  number  of  people  who  were  waiting  for  him 
at  the  foot  of  the  grand  staircase.  His  Most  Serene 
Highness  appeared  gratified  with  this  reception  and 
saluted  the  public." 

The  Duke  left  Paris  on  the  2d  of  July  and  re- 
turned to  Palermo  to  fetch  his  wife  and  his  three 
children,  who  had  all  been  born  in  that  city, — 
the  Duke  of  Chartres,  on  the  3d  of  September,  1810 ; 
the  Princess  Louise  (who  became  Queen  of  the 
Belgians),  on  the  3d  of  April,  1812 ;  and  the  Prin- 
cess Marie  (the  future  Princess  of  Wurtemburg), 
on  the  12th  of  April,  1813.  He  embarked  on  the 
French  man-of-war,  the  Ville  de  Marseille^  which 
bore  the  flag  of  Rear-Admiral  L'Hermite,  and  en- 
tered the  roadstead  of  Palermo  on  the  14th  of  July. 
The  population  gave  him  a  hearty  reception  from 
the  shore.     On  the  27th  of  the  same  month,  he  set 


132  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

out  for  France  with  his  family  on  the  Ville  de 
Marseille  and  set  foot  on  French  soil  on  the  18th 
of  August,  after  a  few  day  of  quarantine.  His 
wife,  then  pregnant  with  the  child  who  became  the 
Duke  of  Nemours,  learned,  during  the  voyage,  of 
the  death  of  her  mother,  Queen  Marie  Caroline,  at 
Vienna.  The  Duke  had  with  him  also  his  sister, 
born  on  the  23d  of  August,  1777,  who  was  unmar- 
ried, and  was  known  as  Madame  Adelaide.  The 
Prince  was  everywhere  received  with  great  honor. 
The  DSbats  of  the  10th  of  September,  1814,  says:  — 

"  Lyons,  Septemper  5.  —  Yesterday,  at  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  his  wife, 
the  Princess  of  Sicily,  and  Mademoiselle  d'Orleans 
entered  Lyons  amid  manifestations  of  public  delight. 
At  two  o'clock  to-day  the  Prince  held  a  review  in 
the  plain  of  Brotteaux." 

"Paris,  September  9.  —  The  Duke  of  Orleans 
reached  Paris  at  eleven  o'clock.  His  first  act  was 
to  render  his  respectful  compliments  to  his  mother, 
the  Dowager  Princess.  His  Highness  preceded  his 
wife  and  children  to  see  if  all  was  ready  to  receive 
them  at  his  palace.    He  returns  for  them  to-morrow." 

On  the  22d  of  September  the  Duke  came  back  to 
Paris  with  his  family.  M.  Trognan,  the  biographer 
of  Queen  Amdlie,  says  of  the  Princess :  "  She 
reached  the  Palais  Royal,  greatly  moved  to  find 
herself  at  Paris  once  more,  offering  to  God  the  tears 
that  incessantly  rose  to  her  eyes  and  at  the  same 
time  giving  Him  thanks  for  having  brought  her  long 


THE  ORLEANS  FAMILY  133 

voyage  to  an  end  so  much  desired.  Moreover,  she 
was  received  only  with  joy  and  confidence  in  the 
world  she  entered.  People  were  still  in  the  first 
emotions  that  came  from  peace  succeeding  long  wars, 
and  the  morn  of  liberty  following  the  greatest  des- 
potism. Happy  in  existing,  the  government  of  the 
Restoration  had  the  appearance  of  walking  forward 
without  looking  behind.  Old  French  society,  find- 
ing itself  again  on  its  feet  at  the  Tuileries,  as  also  in 
the  mansions  of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  did  not 
dream  of  the  perils  its  own  imprudence  was  prepar- 
ing for  it.  The  mourning  which  the  Duchess  of 
Orleans  wore  in  her  heart  as  well  as  in  her  gar- 
ments, and  the  demands  of  a  pregnancy  the  end  of 
which  was  at  hand,  alone  prevented  her  from  min- 
gling from  that  time  with  what  was  going  on  at 
court,  and  in  Parisian  life." 

Marie  Am^lie  was  born  on  the  26th  of  April,  1782, 
and  was,  at  this  time,  thirty-two  years  old.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Ferdinand  IV.,  King  of  the  Two 
Sicilies,  and  Queen  Marie  Caroline,  Archduchess  of 
Austria,  and  sister  of  the  Queen  of  France,  Marie 
Antoinette.  On  the  25th  of  November,  1809,  she 
married  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  then  exiled  at  Palermo, 
the  marriage  being  a  love  match.  An  irreproachable 
and  devoted  mother,  she  bore  a  great  reputation  for 
virtue  and  piety.  The  Duchess  of  AngoulSme,  who 
liked  only  persons  whose  morals  were  pure,  gave  her 
pious  cousin  a  specially  friendly  welcome.  She  was 
god-mother  to  the  Duke  of  Nemours,  who  was  born 


184  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULiilE 

at  Paris  on  the  5th  of  October,  1814.  The  Journal 
des  DShaU  contains  the  following  account  of  the 
baptism :  — 

"Paris,  October  26,  1814.  — The  King  and  Ma- 
dame the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  to-day  held  at  the 
baptismal  font  in  the  chapel  of  the  Tuileries,  the  Duke 
of  Nemours,  second  son  of  Monseigneur  the  Duke 
of  Orleans.  The  ceremony  was  performed  by  Mon- 
seigneur the  Archbishop  of  Rheims,  Grand  Almoner 
of  France,  assisted  by  M.  the  Cur^  of  the  parish  of 
Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois.  Madame  the  Duchess 
Dowager  of  Orleans,  Monseigneur  the  Duke  of 
Orleans,  and  the  principal  personages  of  the  court 
were  present.  The  Count  of  Blacas  drew  up  the 
civil  certificate." 

The  Duchess  Dowager  of  Orleans  had,  like  her 
daughter-in-law,  a  great  reputation  for  piety.  Born 
on  the  23d  of  March,  1753,  Louise-Marie- Adelaide 
de  Bourbon,  daughter  of  the  virtuous  Duke  of 
Penthi^vre,  sister  of  the  unfortunate  Princess  de 
Lamballe,  and  widow  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
(Philippe  Egalit^),  had  borne  a  long  series  of 
catastropliies  with  great  fortitude.  She  was  mar- 
ried at  the  age  of  sixteen  and  appeared  to  great  advan- 
tage at  the  court  of  Louis  XVI.,  which  she  left  only 
when  her  husband  became  embroiled  with  the  King 
and  the  princes.  She  remained  in  France  during 
the  most  perilous  epoch  of  the  Revolution  and  was 
imprisoned  at  Paris  in  1793.  Having  lived  till  the 
9th  Thermidor  without  anybody  caring  what  became 


THE  ORLEANS  FAMILY  135 

of  her,  she  was  phiced  in  a  private  asylum,  where  she 
remained  till  the  12th  of  September,  1797.  Then  she 
was  deported  to  Spain  and  did  not  return  to  Paris 
till  the  7th  of  August,  1814.  Her  residence  was  in 
the  rue  Tournon,  at  the  Nivernais  mansion.  In  spite 
of  the  recollections  attached  to  the  memory  of  her 
husband  she  met  with  an  excellent  reception  at  court, 
and  passed  a  life  of  tranquillity,  devoted  to  religion 
and  good  works. 

Her  son,  Louis  Philippe,  Duke  of  Orleans,  who 
was  born  on  the  6th  of  October,  1773,  had  already 
undergone  many  vicissitudes  of  fortune.  In  his  early 
youth,  in  1789,  he  had  been  led  into  the  Revolution 
through  the  example  and  by  the  authority  of  his 
father,  whose  illusions  he  shared,  and  he  even  took 
a  not  inglorious  part  in  the  first  battles  of  repub- 
licans in  arms  against  foreign  invasion.  Subse- 
quently condemned  to  exile  by  the  government  of 
the  Terror,  and  already  an  object  of  hatred  to  all 
parties,  he  had  travelled  for  a  long  time  in  Europe 
and  America,  where  he  was  sometimes  obliged  to 
conceal  his  name  and  to  take  pupils  in  order  to 
procure  the  necessaries  of  life.  Misfortune  had 
given  him  precocious  wisdom,  and  when  afterwards 
he  was  a  refugee  in  Sicily  he  had  the  adroitness  to 
secure  the  hand  of  the  daughter  of  King  Ferdinand 
IV.,  and  in  a  delicate  situation  he  displayed  rare 
prudence  and  address.  He  went  to  see  Louis 
XVIII.  in  England  and  retracted  what  he  then 
called  the  political  errors  of  his  youth.     He  divined, 


136  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULMe 

too,  the  future,  and  laid  his  plans  for  the  situation 
he  desired  at  court  in  case  of  a  restoration.  So  he 
was  very  well  received  at  the  Tuileries,  and  for  some 
time  pursued  a  course  of  conduct  not  displeasing 
to  the  royal  family,  and  the  way  in  which  he  did  so 
was  wholly  agreeable  to  the  liberals. 

The  salon  of  the  Duchess  of  Orleans  was  very 
select.  "Court  homage,"  says  M.  Trognon,  her 
biographer,  "  caused  her  to  be  sought  at  the  Palais 
Royal.  Only  a  small  number  of  SmigrSs,  faithful  to 
their  old  enmity  to  the  name  she  bore,  were  lacking. 
Together  with  the  ^lite  of  old  families  of  the  king- 
dom, marshals,  generals,  and  senatoi-s  converted  into 
peers  of  France,  presented  themselves  to  her,  certain 
to  meet  with  a  better  reception  than  they  ever  found 
at  the  Tuileries.  Independently  of  all  these  people  to 
whom  the  apartments  of  the  Palais  Royal  were  open, 
there  was  a  closer  and  more  restricted  circle  in  which 
the  first  rank  belonged  to  the  Duchess  Dowager  and 
her  sister-in-law,  the  Duchess  of  Bourbon.  After 
these  figured  the  few  that  still  remained  of  the  old 
familiars  of  the  house  of  Orleans,  to  whom  were 
added  the  new  officers  whom  the  Prince  had  at- 
tached to  his  person,  —  General  Albert,  Colonel 
Athalin,  Count  Camille  de  Sainte-Aldegonde,  Vis- 
count de  Rohan-Chabot,  Count  Thibaut,  and  Baron 
Raoul  de  Montmorency.  The  honorary  title  of 
tutor  to  the  young  Duke  of  Chartres  was  given  to 
Count  de  Grave,  one  of  the  constitutional  ministers 
of  Louis  XVI.  during  the  last  days  of  his  reign.' 


THE  ORLEANS  FAMILY  137 

Already,  and  in  spite  of  the  Duke's  reserve,  is  seen 
the  birth  of  what  has  been  called  Orleanism.  As 
M.  de  Viel-Castel  observes :  "  The  Prince  restored 
to  the  favor  of  Louis  XVIII.,  and,  so  to  speak,  am- 
nestied, remained  nevertheless  an  object  of  aversion 
and  distrust  to  the  royalists.  It  was  known  that  in 
renouncing  the  exaggerated  notions  of  his  youth,  he 
had  not  abjured  all  thought  of  liberty,  reform,  and 
improvement,  and  was  not  alien  to  the  spirit  of  the 
times.  It  was  remembered  that  on  several  occasions 
the  idea  of  raising  him  to  power  had  occurred  to  men 
who  were  looking  about  for  means  of  re-establishing 
the  throne  without  causing  alarm,  and  without  en- 
dangering new  interests.  His  somewhat  bourgeois 
manners,  his  familiar  and  easy  address,  forming,  as 
they  did,  a  very  strong  contrast  to  the  almost  orien- 
tal etiquette  of  the  Bourbon  court,  seemed  to  many 
people  a  stroke  of  policy  to  win  popular  favor.  Louis 
XVIII.  did  not  like  him,  perhaps  because  he  sus- 
pected him  of  ambitious  designs,  and  perhaps  because 
he  foresaw  that  even  involuntarily  and  by  the  sheer 
force  of  circumstances  he  would  one  day  become  the 
rallying-point  of  the  malecontents.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Count  of  Artois,  who  had  at  the  same  time 
less  perspicacity  and  a  more  affectionate  disposition 
than  his  brother,  showed  great  kindness  to  the  Duke 
of  Orleans,  who  had  taken  occasion  to  render  him  a 
number  of  personal  services  during  their  sojourn  in 
England." 

In  the  words  of  M.  Thiers,  the  Orleanist  party 


138  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

existed  of  itself,  without  any  help  from  the  Duke  of 
Orleans,  who,  "well  educated,  bright,  cautious,  un- 
derstanding the  SmigrSs  perfectly  well  and  joking 
about  them  in  the  privacy  of  his  family,  was  so  much 
pleased  to  be  in  his  country  once  more  and  to  regain 
there  a  princely  position  and  a  large  fortune,  that  he 
thought  of  nothing  else,  and  never  dreamed  that  he 
was  giving  good  occasion  for  the  hatred  of  the  roy- 
alists, which  remained  as  bitter  against  him  as  it  had 
been  against  his  father." 

A  proof  that  there  was  no  connivance  between  the 
Prince  and  his  partisans  is  that,  since  1814,  there  had 
been  an  Orleanist  party  in  abeyance,  which,  perhaps, 
had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  actions  of  its 
natural  head.  After  the  return  of  the  Bourbons,  the 
instinct  of  the  people  sesmed  to  forecast  the  fate 
which  the  hazard  of  revol  itions  held  in  reserve  for 
the  future  King,  Louis  Phiippe  I.  "In  vain,"  says 
M.  Vaulabelle,  "  did  he  try  to  make  people  forget 
him,  no  matter  how  great  might  be  the  pains  he 
appeared  to  take  to  efface  himself,  the  court,  as  well 
as  the  official  jjublic,  was  soon  disquieted  about  him. 
The  royalists,  being  unable  to  make  up  their  minds 
to  pardon  him  the  vote  which  his  father  had  cast  in 
favor  of  the  execution  of  Louis  XVI.,  nor  the  revo- 
lutionary opinions  which  he  himself  had  professed  for 
a  long  time,  were  suspicious  of  his  cautious  attitude, 
and  accused  him  of  cherishing  designs  to  place  him- 
self on  the  throne  of  his  Bourbon  ancestors.  The 
way  in  which  he  received  at  his  house  all  the  chief 


THE  ORLEANS  FAMILY  139 

notabilities  of  the  Empire  and  the  early  days  of  the 
Revolution,  his  polite,  caressing,  and  almost  too 
popular  manners,  his  conversation,  exempt  as  it  was 
from  the  prejudices  which  dominated  at  court  and  in 
the  government,  suihced  to  point  him  out  as  the 
hope  of  the  liberals." 

In  Louis  Philippe  there  were  two  distinct  men,  the 
prince  and  the  revolutionist,  and  he  played  two  dif- 
ferent parts  with  equal  ingenuousness.  He  was,  as 
Montaigne  would  have  said,  an  undulating  and 
diverse  man,  whose  fluctuations  were  explainable  by 
the  wavering  epoch  in  which  he  lived.  Perhaps  he 
did  not  acknowledge  even  to  himself  the  contradic- 
tions that  existed  in  his  character  as  in  his  destiny. 
He  was  —  involuntarily,  likely  enough,  and  by  the 
force  of  circumstances  rather  than  from  premedita- 
tion—  the  representative  of  that  fickle  France  which, 
while  believing  itself  sincere  in  its  mobility,  changes 
'its  opinions  and  its  flags  as  an  actress  changes  her 
costumes.  The  prince  and  the  revolutionist  that 
were  incarnate  in  the  same  man  could  each  make  use 
of  a  different  language,  —  the  prince  at  the  Tuileries, 
the  revolutionist  at  the  Palais  Royal. 

At  the  Tuileries  the  prince  might  say :  "  I  am  not 
responsible  for  my  father's  faults.  He  expiated  them 
cruelly  and  repented  of  them  before  his  death.  His 
fate,  and  that  of  Dumouriez,my  old  general,  set  me  to 
thinking  in  a  way  that  opened  my  eyes  to  the  truth. 
I  retracted  all  the  errors  of  my  early  youth,  and 
during  the  whole  duration  of  the  Empire  I  remained 


140  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

faithful  to  the  cause  of  kings.  I  asked  the  Spanish 
Cortes  for  a  command  against  Bonaparte,  and  it  is 
not  my  fault  that  England  prevented  me  from  war- 
ring against  the  usurper,  against  whom  I  had  already 
issued  a  strong  proclamation.  I  have  the  honor 
to  be  the  husband  of  the  niece  of  Queen  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, and  no  household  is  more  closely  united  than 
mine.  I  am  on  the  best  of  terms  with  my  father-in- 
law,  King  Ferdinand,  who  assuredly  does  not  suspect 
me  of  too  liberal  tendencies.  I  shall  always  be  faith- 
ful to  my  duties  as  a  prince  of  the  blood.  My  devo- 
tion to  the  person  of  Louis  XVIII.,  my  sovereign, 
my  benefactor,  is  absolute." 

At  the  Palais  Royal  the  revolutionist  might  say: 
"My  father  died  a  victim  to  his  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  liberty,  and  I  have  never  disavowed  my 
father.  I  had  the  honor  of  fighting  under  the  shadow 
of  the  tricolor.  I  am  a  soldier  of  Jemmapes  and 
Valmy.  I  belong  to  the  present  and  not  to  the  past. 
The  friend  of  progress,  the  foe  of  reaction,  and 
French  before  being  prince,  I  shared  in  none  of  the 
whims  and  prejudices  of  the  SmigrSs.  I  am  not  a 
man  of  the  old  regime ;  I  am  a  man  of  the  principles 
of  1789.  I  will  instruct  my  children  as  I  myself  was 
instructed,  in  the  new  ideas.  Liberals,  you  have  a 
pledge  in  my  antecedents,  and  you  can  count  upon 
me." 


XIII 


THE  FAMILY  OF   CONDB 


IF  in  the  House  of  France  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
was  the  representative  of  the  new  ideas,  the  old 
regime  was,  on  the  other  hand,  personil&ed  in  the 
aged  Prince  of  Conde  and  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Bour- 
bon, who  was  father  of  the  unhappy  Duke  of 
Enghien.  Both  these  princes,  who  had  never  com- 
promised with  the  Revolution,  and  who  had  combated 
it  in  arms  from  the  first,  were  fine  types  of  the  Smi- 
grS.  The  ultra-royalists  admired  these  two  veterans 
of  the  monarchical  cause,  whose  life  was  a  model, 
but  whose  race,  on  the  point  of  becoming  extinct, 
already  seemed  but  a  memory  of  the  olden  times. 
The  Palais  Bourbon,  where  they  lived,  and  which,  by 
irony  of  fortune  (for  both  father  and  son  detested 
parliamentarism),  stood  side  by  side  with  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies,  was  the  rendezvous  of  reactionaries 
who  bitterly  opposed  the  government  of  Louis  XVIII. 
because,  in  their  opinion,  it  was  too  liberal.  They 
reproached  the  King  with  having  entertained  ad- 
vanced ideas  from  the  beginning  of  his  political 
career ;  with  his  connection  with  the  philosophers ; 
with  liis  tardy  emigration  (he  did  not  emigrate  till 

141 


142  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULJ^ME 

1791,  while  the  flight  of  the  Cond^s  dated  from  1789) ; 
with  his  ministry  composed  almost  exclusively  of 
men  of  the  Revolution  and  Empire ;  and  with  his  par- 
tiality for  those  who  had  taken  possession  of  the 
national  property ;  and,  above  all,  did  they  blame  him 
on  account  of  the  Charter,  which  the  old  defenders 
of  the  throne  and  altar  looked  upon  as  an  unintelli- 
gent and  useless  concession  to  the  most  subversive 
principles.  The  King  cared  but  little  for  the  opinion 
of  the  two  Condds.  He  treated  them  civilly  and 
allowed  them  to  figure  at  his  side  in  ceremonies,  but 
their  political  r81e  was  confined  to  these  official  pub- 
lic appearances. 

Born  on  the  9th  of  August,  1736,  Louis  Joseph  de 
Bourbon,  Prince  of  Condd,  was  seventy-seven  years 
old  at  the  beginning  of  the  Restoration.  His  mili- 
tary reputation  was  fully  established.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  he  entered  the  profession  of  arms,  and  at 
once  became  known  for  his  distinguished  gallantry. 
In  1762,  he  fought  the  Prince  of  Brunswick  and  took 
him  prisoner,  together  with  all  his  artillery.  His  popu- 
larity was  then  so  great  that  once,  when  he  appeared 
at  the  Theatre  Fran9ais  after  the  battle  of  Johan- 
nisberg,  the  entire  audience  turned  their  faces  to  the 
Prince  and  greeted  him  with  applause,  when  an 
actor  spoke  the  words:  "I  drink  to  Mars!"  Even 
his  reverses  themselves  inured  to  his  fame.  The 
French  cannons  that  he  saved  on  the  day  of  Rossbach 
were  set  up  for  ornaments  in  his  magnificent  gardens 
at  Chantilly.      During  the  last  years  of  the   old 


THE  FAMILY  OF  CONDE  143 

regime  he  had  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the 
bravest,  most  affable,  and  most  hospitable  princes  in 
all  Europe.  He  often  gave  what  he  called  military 
dinners,  and  delighted  to  surround  himself  with 
whatever  recalled  to  him  the  great  martial  deeds  of 
his  ancestor's,  and  the  battles  at  which  he  himself 
had  fought.  Extremely  devoted  to  ancient  traditions, 
he  put  no  faith  in  the  philosophers.  "  Good  men," 
said  he,  "  are  more  to  my  liking  than  brilliant  men." 

The  Prince  of  Cond^  was  married  twice.  At  the 
age  of  seventeen  he  became  the  husband  of  Charlotte 
Godefride-Elisabeth  de  Rohan-Soubise,  by  whom,  in 
1756,  he  had  the  Duke  of  Bourbon  and,  in  1757, 
Mademoiselle  de  Gondii,  who  died  in  1760.  He  was 
married  again  on  the  24th  of  October,  1798,  to  Cath- 
erine de  Brignole,  Princess-Dowager  of  Monaco,  who 
died  in  1813. 

During  the  whole  Revolution  and  Empire,  the 
Prince  remained  steadfast  to  his  ideas.  After  the 
events  of  1789,  he  issued  a  manifesto  inviting  royal- 
ist gentlemen  to  join  him  in  his  warring  exile.  As 
creator  and  head  of  the  little  army  which  bore  his 
name,  and  in  which  three  generations  of  his  family 
had  fought  for  the  royal  cause,  he  held  it  as  a  patri- 
otic deed  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  foreigners  who 
were  at  war  with  republican  France.  When  his 
army  was  disbanded  in  1801,  he  retired  to  England, 
which  country  he  left  only  to  return  to  France  with 

Louis  xvin. 

All  the  officers  and  soldiers   of  the  old  army  of 


144  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

Cond^  came  to  the  Palais  Bourbon  to  pay  their 
respects  to  their  chief  and,  generally,  to  seek  aid, 
since  they  were  nearly  all  poor.  The  Prince  passed 
a  considerable  part  of  his  time  in  signing  papers  and 
acknowledgments  of  services  rendered.  For  some 
weeks  the  applicants  were  nearly  all  gentlemen  who 
were  survivors  of  the  army  of  Cond^.  But  soon  the 
number  of  his  visitors  became  so  large  that  the  aged 
Prince  said :  "  It  is  strange  that  all  these  gentlemen 
pretend  they  know  me ;  this  can  hardly  be  the  case, 
for  down  there  I  had  only  a  few  regiments,  and  now 
a  whole  army  is  flocking  to  see  me." 

In  his  Souvenirs^  Count  Alexandre  de  Puymaigre 
says :  "As  to  the  Prince  of  Conde,  my  old  general,  and 
the  patron  of  my  father  and  my  family,  he  was  always 
faithful  to  his  chivalrous  traditions,  and  exhausted 
himself  in  endeavors  to  get  a  place  for  me ;  but  his 
great  age,  the  political  insignificance  of  his  son,  and  the 
approaching  end  of  his  illustrious  race,  unfitted  him 
for  having  much  influence.  The  intelligence  of  the 
Prince  was  sometimes  clouded,  and  then  he  confused 
men  and  epochs,  —  an  excusable  thing  in  a  man  of 
his  years.  I  remember  being  with  him  one  Sunday, 
when  the  Duke  of  Dalmatia  (Marshal  Soult)  was 
announced,  together  with  Count  Beugnot,  both  of 
whom  the  King  had  just  called  to  the  ministry, — 
'  Who  are  these  people  ? '  the  Prince  asked  us ;  but 
before  any  one  could  reply,  they  were  introduced. 
'  Monsieur,'  said  the  Prince  to  the  Marshal,  '  I  trust 
that  you  will  continue  to  serve  the  King  as  you  have 


THE  FAMILY   OF  CONDE  145 

always  done,  and  with  the  same  zeal.'  This  con- 
fusion of  ideas  amused  us  very  much,  and  especially 
so  did  the  embarrassed  air  of  the  new  Minister  of 
War,  who  was  never  noted  for  bashfulness." 

Another  anecdote,  somewhat  touched  up,  perhaps, 
but  in  any  case  diverting,  is  related.  One  day,  M. 
de  Talleyrand-P<3rigord  was  announced  at  the  salon 
of  the  Prince  of  Cond^.  The  Prince  rose,  received 
his  visitor,  and  recognized  him  perfectly  well.  He 
was  the  famous  Talleyrand,  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs.  But  the  Prince  pretended  to  take  him  for 
Monseigneur  de  Talleyrand,  Archbishop  of  Rheims 
and  Grand  Almoner  of  France.  This  prelate  was 
the  famous  diplomate's  uncle,  and,  like  the  Prince 
of  Cond^,  had  emigrated,  been  the  companion  of  the 
Prince's  exile,  and  returned  with  him  from  England, 
along  with  the  King.  "  Ah,  my  dear  Archbishop," 
exclaimed  the  old  Prince,  "how  delighted  I  am  to 
see  you  I "  Then,  entering  into  conversation  and 
speaking  of  the  past,  he  inveighed  against  the  Revo- 
lution, the  Empire,  and  all  who  had  served  these 
two  abhorred  regimes.  "  It  pains  me  to  say  so,"  he 
added,  "  but  of  all  those  rascals  the  most  odious,  my 
dear  Archbishop,  is  unquestionably  your  own  nephew, 
who,  doubly  apostate  as  gentleman  and  as  priest,  was 
one  of  Bonaparte's  chief  ministers  when  my  grand- 
son, the  Duke  of  Enghien,  was  assassinated."  The 
King's  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  said  not  a  word, 
and  remained  unmoved.  At  length  he  rose  to  go  ; 
"Adieu,  Mr.  Archbishop,"  said  the  Prince;  "come  to 


146  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

see  me  again,  but,  I  conjure  you,  never  bring  with 
you  that  scamp  whom  you  have  the  misfortune  to 
call  your  nephew ;  for  if  he  comes,  I  shall  be  obliged 
to  have  him  thrown  out  of  the  window." 

The  Duke  of  Bourbon,  son  of  the  Prince  of  Cond^, 
held  the  same  ideas  and  sentiments  as  his  father. 
He  was  born  on  the  13th  of  April,  1756,  and  married 
Louise  Marie  Thdrdse  Bathilde  d'Orl^ans,  on  the  24th 
of  April,  1770.  The  Duke  of  Enghien  was  born  of 
this  marriage,  in  1772.  Associated  with  the  desti- 
nies of  his  father,  the  Duke  of  Bourbon  had  followed 
him,  first  in  the  army  of  Cond^,  and  then  on  his 
exile  to  England.  The  two  returned  to  France 
together.  Caring  very  little  for  politics,  and  sur- 
rounded with  some  women  and  a  few  friends  who 
had  shared  his  exile,  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
time  at  the  chateau  of  Chantilly,  and  distracted  his 
attention  from  his  troubles  by  going  on  continual 
hunts  in  the  forests,  that  recalled  his  infancy  and 
early  youth.  (Upon  the  death  of  his  father,  on  the 
13th  of  May,  1818,  he  took  the  title  of  Prince  of 
Cond^,  and  died  on  the  27th  of  August,  1830,  by 
suicide,  some  say,  although,  according  to  others,  he 
was  assassinated.  By  a  will,  dated  on  the  30th  of 
August,  1829,  the  Duke  of  Aumale  was  made  his 
heir.) 

His  wife,  Louise  Marie  Th^r^se  Bathilde  d'Orl^ans, 
was  born  at  Saint  Cloud  on  the  9th  of  July,  1750.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Louis  Philippe,  Duke  of  Orleans, 
grandson  of  the  Regent,  and  was  the  sister  of  Philippe 


THE  FAMILY  OF  CONDE  147 

Egalit^,  and  aunt  of  the  Prince  who  became  King 
Louis  Philippe.  When  the  Duke  of  Bourbon  was 
hardly  fifteen  years  old,  he  fell  in  love  with  the  Prin- 
cess, who  was  six  years  his  senior.  This  marriage, 
of  which  the  Duke  of  Enghien  was  born,  was  not 
happy.  The  couple  soon  separated.  The  Duke  re- 
turned her  dowry  to  the  House  of  Orleans,  and  made 
a  small  addition  to  it.  Left  alone,  the  Princess  gave 
herself  up  to  a  mixture  of  mystical  and  revolutionary 
notions.  She  became  intimate  with  Catherine  Th^o, 
who  wanted  to  be  called  the  "  Mother  of  God,"  and 
she  paid  much  attention  to  the  predictions  of  the 
Carthusian  friar,  Dom  Gerle.  On  the  outbreak  of 
the  Revolution,  she  gave  her  protection  to  the  con- 
stitutional bishops.  Notwithstanding  this  she  was 
imprisoned,  under  the  Teri'or,  in  the  fortress  of  Saint- 
Jean  at  Marseilles,  where  she  remained  from  May, 
1793,  till  the  29th  of  April,  1795.  She  then  found 
refuge  at  Soria,  near  Barcelona,  in  Spain,  in  a  country 
house,  where  she  took  care  of  the  sick.  While  there 
she  entered  upon  a  correspondence  that  was  exten- 
sive and  sometimes  peculiar.  She  affected  one  of 
the  Illuminati,  Saint-Martin,  who  in  1796  wrote  a 
work  for  her,  entitled  Ecce  Homo.  In  1800  she 
wrote  a  letter,  demanding  that  there  should  be  no 
distinctions  among  men  except  those  that  should  be 
based  on  virtue,  intelligence,  talents,  and  education ; 
that  the  law  should  prevent  the  accumulation  of 
extremely  large  properties,  and  that  everybody  should 
be  ashamed  to  be  too  rich.     "  Whatever,"  she  added, 


148  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

"  may  have  been  the  consequences  of  the  Revolution, 
I  can  never  quarrel  with  the  object  it  had  in  view,  but 
only  with  the  means  that  it  employed." 

When  she  returned  to  France  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Restoration,  the  Duchess  did  not  go  to 
the  Palais  Bourbon,  but  took  up  her  residence  in  the 
rue  de  Varennes,  at  the  H6tel  Monaco,  now  the  home 
of  the  Duchess  of  Galliera.  Being  very  charitable, 
she  received  a  host  of  poor  people  at  her  house, 
which  she  sometimes  called  the  Hospital  d'Enghien. 
Strange  as  it  was,  the  mother  of  the  victim  of  the 
trenches  of  Vincennes  did  not  have  a  reputation  for 
hostility  to  Napoleon,  the  murderer  of  her  son.  It  is 
certain  that  she  remained  in  France  all  through  the 
Hundred  Days,  and  that  she  received,  as  also  did 
the  Duchess  Dowager  of  Orleans,  a  pension  from  the 
Emperor.  It  was  owing  to  the  request  of  Queen 
Hortense  that  this  pension  was  given  to  the  two 
princesses.  How  strange  a  time,  when  the  mother 
of  the  Duke  of  Enghien  was  the  pensionary  of  Napo- 
leon !  But  the  sight  of  Queen  Hortense  receiving 
from  Louis  XVIII.  the  title  of  Duchess  of  Saint-Leu, 
at  the  instance  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  was  not, 
perhaps,  less  surprising. 

The  Duke  of  Bourbon  had  a  sister,  Louise  Adelaide 
de  Bourbon-Condd,  who  was  worthy  of  the  highest 
esteem.  Born  on  the  5th  of  October,  1757,  this  pious 
Princess  first  shone  at  the  court  of  Versailles  and  the 
ch§,teau  of  Chantilly.  At  that  epoch  she  was  called 
Mademoiselle  de  Cond^,  and  it  seems  that  for  a  time 


THE  FAMILY  OF  CONDE  149 

there  was  some  thought  of  making  lier  the  wife  of 
the  Count  of  Artois.  The  Baroness  of  Oberkirch 
thus  speaks  of  this  matter  in  her  Souvenirs :  "  She  is 
one  of  those  people  so  far  above  others  that  their 
high  rank  adds  nothing  to  their  personal  importance. 
Mademoiselle  de  Cond^,  if  born  in  a  farmhouse, 
would  have  been  the  chief  personage  in  it,  and  yet 
have  resembled  no  other  peasant,  merely  through 
her  superior  intelligence  and  innate  distinction.  She 
is,  indeed,  beautiful,  but  in  the  manner  of  queens ; 
majesty  and  power  are  in  her  smile.  Nevertheless 
she  has  a  very  tender  heart;  she  has  a  forehead  fitted 
to  wear  either  a  crown  or  a  nun's  veil."  She  preferred 
the  veil  of  religion.  In  1786,  she  became  the  Abbess 
of  Remiremont.  During  the  emigration  she  entered 
the  nunnery  of  Sainte-Vall^e-de-Dieu,  in  Valais,  under 
the  name  of  Sister  Marie-Joseph.  Driven  from  this 
asylum  by  the  republican  invasion,  she  drove  in  a 
carriage  to  Constance ;  thence  to  Lintz ;  from  there 
to  Orcha  in  Russia ;  and  then  to  Warsaw,  where  she 
entered  the  convent  of  the  Benedictines  of  the  Per- 
petual Adoration,  under  the  name  of  Sister  Marie 
Louise  de  la  Mis^ricorde.  There  she  learned  of 
the  death  of  her  unfortunate  nephew,  the  Duke  of 
Enghien.  Thence  she  proceeded  to  England  to  take 
the  most  tender  care  of  the  grandfather  and  the  father 
of  that  Prince.  When  she  returned  to  France  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Restoration,  she  received  from  the 
King  the  mansion  of  the  Temple,  and  became  the  pri- 
oress of  the  convent  of  the  Benedictines  of  Perpetual 


160  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

Adoration,  which  she  established  near  the  site  of  the 
tower  where  Louis  XVI.  and  his  family  underwent 
their  dolorous  captivity. 

The  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  was  delighted  to  see 
her  pious  relative  so  devoted  to  religion.  The 
orphan  of  the  Temple  had,  besides,  very  lively  sym- 
pathy for  the  Cond^s,  and  especially  for  the  aged 
Prince.  In  January,  1815,  at  Twelfth-Night,  Louis 
XVIII.  gave  a  family  dinner  at  the  Tuileries.  The 
traditional  cake  was  cut.  The  bean  fell  to  the 
Duchess  of  Angouleme,  who  took  pains  to  choose 
the  Prince  of  Cond^  for  king. 


xiy 

THE  F^TE   AT   THE   HOTEL  DE   VILLE 

WE  have  endeavored  to  describe  the  society 
in  which  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  lived, 
and  to  portray  the  persons  who  composed  her  family. 
We  shall  now  take  up  once  more  the  thread  of  our 
story  with  the  month  of  August,  1814.  During  the 
early  part  of  the  month  the  Duchess  assisted  at  the 
fStes  given  in  her  honor  bj'-  the  city  of  Lyons. 
After  her  return  to  Paris  on  the  13th,  she  went,  on 
the  15th,  to  divine  service  at  the  metropolitan 
church,  where  the  traditional  procession  of  the  vow 
of  Louis  XIII.  was  under  way. 

"  After  vespers,"  said  the  Journal  des  DShats^  "  the 
procession  left  the  cathedral.  It  advanced  in  per- 
fect order  through  a  great  multitude  of  people,  who 
looked  affectionately  upon  the  princes  and  Madame, 
who,  in  pious  meditation,  followed  on  foot  the  image 
of  the  great  patroness  of  France.  The  day  deserves 
to  be  memorable.  It  has  restored  one  of  our  ancient 
customs  to  us.  Religion  is  the  mother  of  all  the 
virtues,  and  virtue  alone  can  bring  prosperity  to  a 
nation." 

151 


152  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

■  On  the  17th  of  August,  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme 
went  to  visit  the  rooms  and  gardens  of  the  chateau 
of  Versailles  and  the  Trianons.  She  desired  to  see 
it  all  once  more,  —  the  chapel  in  which,  when  a  child, 
she  had  prayed,  alas !  in  vain,  for  the  safety  of  the 
monarchy ;  the  foliage  that  had  thrown  its  shadow  on 
her  earliest  footsteps ;  the  Petit  Trianon,  where  her 
mother's  happy  days  had  glided  by;  the  grotto  in 
which  the  Queen  learned,  on  the  5th  of  October, 
1789,  of  the  arrival  of  the  invaders ;  the  balcony 
of  the  chS,teau,  where  the  heroic  Princess,  holding 
her  son  and  daughter  by  the  hand,  had  majestically 
confronted  the  furious  mob,  which,  in  order  to  guard 
against  involuntary  compassion,  cried  in  its  rage : 
"  No  children !  No  children !  "  The  orphan  mused 
in  the  chamber  where  she  and  her  two  unfortunate 
brothers,  the  dauphins,  were  born.  Then  she  re- 
turned to  the  Tuileries,  recalling  the  journey  she 
once  made  from  Versailles  to  that  palace,  preceded 
by  demoniacs  who  bore  on  pikes  the  livid  heads  of 
massacred  body-guards  as  bloody  trophies.  Tlfus  it 
was  that,  even  in  the  midst  of  a  fleeting  prosperity, 
the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette 
was  oppressed  by  sorrowful  memoiies. 

The  25th  of  August  was  Louis  XVIIL's  saint's 
day,  and  in  honor  of  it  he  held  a  reception  in  the 
throne-room  of  the  Tuileries.  At  six  o'clock  in  the 
evening  the  King  assisted  at  a  great  dinner.  The 
people  who  had  been  presented,  together  with  a 
large   number  of  men   and   women  who   had  been 


THE  FETE  AT  THE  HOTEL  BE   VILLE        153 

invited  to  dine,  passed  in  succession  before  Louis 
XVIII.,  who  responded  affably  to  their  lively- 
expressions  of  pleasure  at  seeing  the  royal  family 
reunited,  while,  from  all  parts  of  the  garden  con- 
tinuous shouts  gave  expression  to  the  feelings  of  a 
large  assembly  that  did  not  withdraw  till  long  after 
the  usual  hour.  The  whole  city  was  illuminated. 
Paris  appeared  joyful.  One  would  have  said  that 
the  people's  old  love  for  its  Kings  had  returned. 
But  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  whom  cruel  expe- 
rience had  rendered  mistrustful,  put  but  little  faith 
in  the  fidelity  of  the  French  nation. 

On  the  29th  of  August,  the  Princess  assisted  at 
the  great  fete  given  to  Louis  XVIII.  by  the  city  of 
Paris.  This  fete  is  a  very  curious  study;  for  it 
makes  one  understand  the  prejudices  and  passions 
of  an  epoch  when  two  regimes,  the  old  and  the 
new,  were  perpetually  at  strife  with  each  other,  and 
when  happenings,  to  all  appearance  trifling,  dis- 
closed all  the  anomalies  of  the  situation,  the  conflict 
of  interests,  the  violence  of  pride,  and  the  fierceness 
of  intrigue. 

Madame  de  Stael  says:  "Among  the  difficulties 
that  had  to  be  overcome  by  the  ministry  in  1814, 
the  influence  exerted  by  the  salons  was  the  greatest. 
Bonaparte  had  revived  the  old  court  customs,  but 
had  added  to  them  all  the  faults  of  the  least  refined 
classes.  The  result  of  this  was  that  the  love  of 
power,  and  the  pride  that  it  inspires,  were  stronger 
and  more  violent  in  the  Bonapartists  than  in  the 


164  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

SmigrSs.  The  Bonapartists  had  been  fawned  upon 
by  Parisian  society  during  their  reign,  just  as  the 
royalist  party  which  succeeded  them  was,  and  noth- 
ing hurt  their  feelings  more  than  to  hold  only  a 
subordinate  place  in  the  same  salons  where  once 
they  had  been  masters.  Besides  this,  the  men  of 
the  old  regime  possessed  those  advantages  which 
graciousness  and  the  habitual  good  manners  of  a 
former  time  gave  them;  consequently  there  was  con- 
stant jealousy  between  the  old  and  the  new  titles, 
and  in  the  new  men  fierce  passions  were  aroused  by 
every  little  event  that  arose  from  rival  claims  to 
respect." 

The  f^te  of  the  H6tel  de  ViUe  gave  an  opportunity 
for  the  old  and  the  new  nobility  to  study  each  other, 
and  that  beautiful  fete  which  its  originators  intended 
as  a  celebration  of  conciliation  and  concord  had  its 
outcome  in  puerile  rivalries,  at  which  one  may  smile 
to-day,  but  which,  in  1814,  had  in  public  life,  and 
especially  at  court,  nearly  as  much  importance  as  the 
gravest  political  occurrences.  Then,  as  in  the  days 
of  the  Duke  of  Saint-Simon,  aristocrats  and  bourgeois 
flew  into  a  passion  over  the  merest  questions  of  eti- 
quette. 

In  the  first  place,  there  was  a  very  lively  quarrel 
between  the  body-guards  and  the  national  guards. 
The  body-guards  claimed  the  right  to  occupy  the 
interior  of  the  HStel  de  Ville,  and  wished  to  relegate 
the  national  guards  to  the  outside.  From  this  a 
fierce  discussion  arose.     "  The  privilege  of  watching 


^i^r^^'^^f  ^^4»r\*x--^-^4*#  ^ 


MME    DE    STAEL 


THE  FETE  AT  THE  HOTEL  BE   VILLE        155 

over  the  person  of  the  King,"  cried  the  body-guards, 
"  is  ours,  as  is  indicated  by  our  name.  It  is  a  right, 
a  duty,  which  we  can  share  with  nobody  whomso- 
ever." —  "  At  the  H6tel  de  Ville,"  replied  the  officers 
of  the  national  guard, "  we  are  in  our  own  house,  and 
nobody  can  dispute  our  claim  to  superiority  in  the 
right  to  entertain  the  King  in  our  own  palace." 

As  the  debate  was  growing  violent,  the  King  made 
himself  umpire,  and  decided  that  half  of  the  body- 
guard and  half  of  the  national  guard  should  be  dis- 
tributed through  the  apartments. 

Another  question  was  presented  which  was  yet 
more  perplexing :  It  had  been  decided  that  thirty- 
six  women  should  be  admitted  to  the  royal  table. 
But  in  what  proportion  should  they  be  selected  for 
the  municipal  banquet  from  the  new  nobility,  which 
held  their  titles  by  the  terms  of  the  Charter,  and  the 
old  nobility,  which  had  regained  theirs  ?  This  was 
the  problem  to  be  solved.  The  new  nobility  was 
confounded  when  it  saw  that  only  five  places  were 
reserved  for  it.  The  common  citizens  considered 
themselves  still  more  humiliated,  since,  among  all 
the  thirty-six  ladies,  there  were  only  two  who  did 
not  belong  to  the  nobility,  and  because  at  a  fete 
given  by  the  city  the  municipal  body  was  not  repre- 
sented by  any  woman. 

Following  is  the  list  of  the  thirty-six  ladies,  as  it 
appeared  in  the  Moniteur :  The  Duchess  of  Fleury, 
the  Duchess  of  Duras,  the  Countess  of  Blacas,  the 
Marchioness  of  Avaray,  the  Marchioness  of  Boisgelin, 


156  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

the  Countess  of  Escars,  the  Marchioness  of  Br6z6,  the 
Duchess  of  Sdrent,  the  Countess  of  Damas,  Madame 
de  Choisy,  the  Duchess  of  Vauguyon,  the  Princess 
of  Beaufremont,  the  Countess  of  Narbonne,  the  Vis- 
countess of  Narbonne,  the  Duchess  of  Mailld,  the 
Countess  of  Durfort,  the  Countess  of  Nansouty,  the 
Marchioness  of  Lagrange,  the  Marchioness  of  La 
Rochejacquelein,  the  Duchess  of  Rohan-Montbazon, 
the  Princess  of  Chalais,  the  Duchess  of  Coigny,  the 
Duchess  of  Mouchy,  the  Duchess  of  Rohan,  the  Prin- 
cess of  Solre,  the  Princess  of  Wagram,  the  Countess 
of  Bournonville,  Madame  Ferrand,  Countess  Maison, 
Mardchale  Suchet,  the  Duchess  of  Albufera,  Mar^- 
chale  Oudinot  (Duchess  of  Reggio),  the  Princess  of 
Laval,  the  Duchess  of  Harcourt,  the  Marchioness  of 
Tourael,  and  the  Baroness  of  IVIontboissier. 

Resignation  is  the  salve  for  wounded  self-love. 
Difficulties  of  etiquette  are  arranged  according  to 
inexorable  laws.  The  fete  takes  place  on  the  27th  of 
August.  It  is  very  fine.  The  King  leaves  the  Tui- 
leries  at  five  in  the  afternoon.  He  is  in  a  gala  coach, 
with  his  brother,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Angou- 
leme,  and  the  Duke  of  Berry.  The  troops  form  in 
double  line.  A  large  escort  precedes  and  follows 
the  royal  carriage.  The  whole  distance  that  the 
train  must  go  is  strewn  with  gravel.  Most  of  the 
houses  of  the  quay  are  adorned  with  flags,  inscrip- 
tions, and  emblems.  At  every  window  there  are 
spectators  who  join  in  the  cheers  of  the  crowd.  On 
his  arrival  at  the  H8tel  de  Ville,  the  first  thing  tha* 


THE  F&TE  AT   THE  HOTEL  BE   VILLE        157 

meets  Louis  XVIII.'s  eyes  when  he  enters  the  great 
hall  is  the  portrait  of  Henri  IV.  placed  above  the 
throne.  "  I  shall  be  fortunate  indeed,"  says  he,  "  if 
niy  subjects  think  that  1  have  taken  for  my  model 
the  good  king  whose  features  are  here  delineated." 

Baron  de  Chabrol,  prefect  of  the  Seine,  then 
delivers  an  address,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
part:  "In  one  moment  France  frees  itself  from  its 
shackles  and  reassumes  its  noble  position.  .  .  .  All 
hearts  are  cheered  at  the  sight  of  a  princess  who  is 
the  very  model  of  virtue,  whom  heaven  has  so  long 
tried,  and  whom  its  eternal  justice  must  at  last 
restore  to  happiness."  The  King  replies  :  "  I  am  most 
deeply  moved  at  being  reunited  with  my  large  fam- 
ily, but  I  have  had  to  wait  in  order  to  be  surrounded 
by  it "  (here  the  King  pointed  to  the  princes  about 
him).  "They  were  my  consolation  in  adversity,  and 
to-day  they  are  my  chief  blessing.  They  have  given 
me  proofs  that  they  share  in  all  my  designs  for  your 
happiness.  I  can  hereafter  close  my  eyes  in  peace, 
since  I  am  sure  that  they  will  inherit  my  sentiments 
in  regard  to  France."  Baroness  de  Chabrol,  the  pre- 
fect's wife,  then  addressed  the  Duchess  of  Angou- 
leme  in  these  words :  "  Memory  still  recalls  to  us  the 
tears  we  shed  in  our  infancy  at  the  story  of  your 
noble  constancy  and  your  long  continued  misfor- 
tunes. We  can  truly  say  that  it  is  in  the  hearts  of 
women  that  the  sacred  flame  of  love  for  our  kings 
burns  brightest  and  most  purely." 

The    royal    family   enters    the    magnificent   hall 


168  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

where  the  great  banquet  which  has  been  the  cause 
of  so  many  rivalries  and  jealousies  is  to  be  given. 
The  arms  of  the  chief  cities  of  the  realm  are  among 
the  decorations.  At  the  foot  of  the  dais  on  which 
the  King  is  to  sit,  natural  lilies  are  grouped  artis- 
tically and  reflected  in  the  mirrors.  On  his  way 
to  the  dais,  the  King  observes  in  the  centre  of  the 
table  a  design  in  sable,  representing  Henri  IV.  at 
supper.  At  the  King's  right  sits  Monsieur  his 
brother,  at  his  left  Madame,  the  Duchess  of  Angou- 
leme,  while  his  nephews,  the  Duke  of  Angouleme 
and  the  Duke  of  Berry  are  seated,  the  former  be- 
side Monsieur,  and  the  second  beside  Madame.  The 
thirty-six  ladies  admitted  to  the  much-coveted  honor 
of  sitting  at  the  royal  table  take  their  places.  None 
others  are  at  the  banquet.  The  King  is  served  by 
Baron  de  Chabrol,  prefect  of  the  Seine  ;  the  Duchess 
of  Angouleme,  by  the  Baroness  de  Chabrol ;  Monsieur, 
by  the  eldest  of  the  mayors  and  the  president  of 
the  municipal  council ;  the  Duke  of  Berry  and 
the  Duke  of  Angouleme,  by  members  of  the  same 
council ;  and  the  thirty-six  ladies,  by  persons  design 
nated  by  the  council. 

As  soon  as  the  banquet  is  ended,  the  concert  begins. 
A  cantata,  of  which  the  words  are  by  the  poet  Mille- 
voie  and  the  music  by  Cherubini,  is  rendered. 
After  the  concert,  the  King  goes  to  the  ball-room, 
which  he  leaves  at  half-past  nine  in  the  evening 
with  the  same  ceremonies  that  took  place  when  he 
came.     Before  entering  his  carriage,  he  says  to  the 


THE  FETE  AT  THE  HOTEL  DE   VILLE        159 

prefect :  "  I  have  nowhere  seen  a  fete  so  beautiful, 
and,  above  all,  so  touching  to  my  heart.  I  shall 
count  this  day,  on  which  I  have  received  so  many 
evidences  of  affection,  among  the  happiest  of  my 
life." 

On  the  day  after  the  fete  the  courtiers  went 
into  ecstasies  over  its  magnificence  and  the  salutary 
impression  which,  as  they  imagined,  it  had  produced. 
They  asseverated  that  all  who  had  had  the  honor 
and  happiness  of  being  present  would  never  forget 
it,  that  never  under  the  rule  of  the  usurper  had 
anything  so  beautiful  been  seen,  and  that  legitimate 
royalty  alone  could  offer  such  a  spectacle.  Never- 
theless, the  very  fete  which  they  admired  so  much 
had  discontented  and  affronted  many  people.  The 
wives  of  the  members  of  the  municipal  council 
were  inconsolable  for  having  been  excluded  from 
that  privileged  banquet.  The  nobility  of  the  Em- 
pire lamented  the  fact  that  so  few  of  their  class 
had  received  invitations.  The  prerogative  of  serv- 
ing the  King  and  Princes  at  table  was  but  slightly 
flattering  to  those  to  whom  it  had  been  given.  It 
is  true  that  these  high  domestic  functions  were 
formerly  exercised  on  formal  occasions  by  the  great- 
est personages  in  the  kingdom,  but  after  the  Revo- 
lution such  an  antique  ceremonial  seemed  slightly 
out  of  place.  In  conclusion,  it  should  be  noted  that 
a  liberal  journal,  the  Censeur^  contented  itself  with 
saying,  as  its  sole  criticism  of  this  fete  of  the  old 
regime,  that  some  days  previously,  when  a  banquet 


160  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

had  been  given  by  the  city  of  Berlin  to  the  officers 
of  the  Prussian  royal  guard  and  the  Russian  impe- 
rial guard,  the  King  of  Prussia  and  his  ministers 
had  sat  down  with  the  chief  burgomaster  of  the 
city. 


XV 

THE  DISTRIBUTION   OF  FLAGS 

FROM  this  time  royalty  deemed  itself  invulner- 
able and  invincible.  The  ceremony  of  dis- 
tributing and  blessing  the  flags  of  the  Paris  national 
guard,  which  took  place  on  the  7th  of  September, 
1814,  on  the  Champ-de-Mars,  confirmed  it  still  fur- 
ther in  this  robust  faith  in  itself.  A  platform  for 
the  royal  throne  was  erected  before  the  Military 
School,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  Champ-de-Mars 
stood  an  altar.  At  half-past  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  the  whole  national  guard  was  under  arms 
and  in  order  of  battle.  At  half  after  eleven  the 
firing  of  cannon  announced  the  sovereign's  arrival. 
Upon  entering  the  field,  the  King  took  a  carriage 
drawn  by  eight  horses,  and,  accompanied  only  by 
the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme,  he  reviewed  the  troops. 
Monsieur,  the  King's  brother,  in  his  capacity  as 
commander  of  the  national  guard  of  the  kingdom, 
stationed  himself  at  the  carriage-door  and  pointed 
out  the  different  corps  to  the  King. 

After  the  review  His  Majesty  left  the  carriage, 
in  front  of  the  Military  School,  ascended  the  plat- 
form, and  seated  himself  on  the  throne.     Surrounded 

161 


162  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

by  the  principal  officers  of  the  crown  and  marshals 
and  generals  of  France,  he  had  his  brother  on  his 
right  and  his  niece,  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  on 
his  left  hand.  Mgr.  Talleyrand-P^rigord,  Archbishop 
of  Rheims  and  Grand  Almoner  of  France,  was  at  the 
altar.  The  King  received  the  flag  of  the  first  legion 
from  Monsieur's  hands  and  lowered  the  head  of  the 
lance  towards  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  who  at- 
tached the  tassel  to  it.  He  then  gave  it  to  the  chief 
of  the  first  legion,  who,  coming  down  from  the  plat- 
form, saluted  with  it  and  went  to  rejoin  the  detach- 
ment to  which  he  belonged.  The  flags  of  eleven 
other  legions  and  that  of  the  national  horse  guards 
were  returned  in  the  same  way.  The  officers  then 
advanced  to  the  altar,  where  the  Grand  Almoner 
blessed  the  flags.  Then  the  whole  guard  defiled 
before  the  throne. 

After  it  had  passed,  the  King  said :  "  This  is  a 
very  fine  day  for  me,  gentlemen ;  it  binds  me  anew 
to  my  brave  national  guard.  What  may  not  one 
hope  from  the  French  when  he  sees  such  troops, 
which  zeal  alone  has  called  into  existence  ?  Let  the 
enemy  come  against  us  when  he  will.  But  no  such 
event  will  happen.  We  look  only  for  friends."  The 
King's  brother  then  said :  "  Sire,  the  national  guard 
is  profoundly  sensible  of  the  great  honor  that  Your 
Majesty  has  done  it,  by  personally  presenting  it  with 
its  flags.  I  can  assure  you.  Sire,  that  the  guard  is 
worthy  of  that  honor.  All  are  ready  to  die  for  Your 
Majesty's  person,  and  among  so  many  faithful  sub- 


THE  DISTRIBUTION   OF  FLAGS  163 

jects  none  is  more  devoted  than  their  commander." 
The  national  guards  then  cried:  "Yes,  yes;  we  swear 
it.  Long  live  the  King ! "  The  King  then  stretched 
his  arms  out  to  his  brother,  drew  him  to  his  breast 
and  embraced  him,  and,  as  the  Moniteur  says,  tears 
of  sympathy  fell  from  all  eyes. 

Prayers  of  the  Church,  acclamations,  an  altar  in 
the  middle  of  the  Champ-de-Mars,  decorations  on  the 
Military  School,  salvos  of  artillery,  hyperbole  in  the 
Moniteur,  official  enthusiasm,  touching  phrases, — 
'tis  all  the  same  thing  under  the  Empire  or  under 
the  Kingship.  Fraternization,  the  distribution  of 
eagles  and  white  flags,  —  it  is  all  the  same  spectacle, 
the  same  pomp.  The  crowd  is  gathered  on  the  same 
slopes ;  the  world  of  officials  is  present  in  the  same 
dress,  on  the  same  balcony.  The  sovereign  changes. 
The  flags  are  not  of  the  same  color.  Now  there  are 
lilies,  and  now  there  are  bees.  But  etiquette  endures. 
Solemnities  are  got  up  on  demand.  In  conducting 
them,  the  same  masters-of-ceremonies  may  be  used, 
and  the  same  editors  may  be  employed  to  report 
them  in  the  official  journal.  Why  not  keep  this 
throne,  this  platform,  this  altar,  among  the  ordinary 
appurtenances  of  the  monarchy,  whatever  it  may  be  ? 
The  tapestry  will  only  have  to  be  changed  a  little, 
and  all  these  trappings  will  do  duty  next  year  for 
Napoleon's  Field  of  May.  Some  sincere  persons, 
some  men  of  convictions,  have  deep  and  genuine 
political  feelings.  But,  in  general,  the  bulk  of  the 
people  is  indifferent  enough.     It  looks  with  a  certain 


1G4  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

curiosity  at  the  scenery  and  decorations.  It  follows 
the  action  attentively.  Occasionally  it  is  moved.  It 
even  weeps.  But,  the  play  once  over,  it  thinks  only 
of  its  own  affairs.     It  forgets  both  play  and  actors. 

As  to  princes,  they  nearly  always  look  upon  ova- 
tions to  them  as  serious  matters,  and  this  in  spite  of 
experience.  Who  would  not  believe  in  a  political 
religion  in  which  one's  self  is  the  idol  ?  Incense  is 
more  intoxicating  than  wine.  Deceived  from  morn- 
ing till  night  and  from  night  till  morning  by  their 
cohrtiers,  men  in  power,  no  matter  who  they  may  be, 
princes  or  republicans,  live  in  a  factitious  atmosphere 
aiid  believe  more  firmly  in  their  own  stability,  the 
ne9.rer  they  draw  to  their  downfall.  In  France  infat- 
uation is  the  ruin  of  all  governments,  —  royalty, 
empire,  or  republic.  There  is  the  rock  on  which 
even  the  greatest  men  are  broken. 

At  the  close  of  1814,  the  throne  was  already  under- 
mined, although  no  one  near  the  King  dreamed  of 
the  impending  peril.  Royalist  writers  redoubled 
their  confidence  and  enthusiasm.  In  his  Reflexions 
politiques,  published  in  December,  Chateaubriand 
said:  "Each  day  sees  a  diminution  of  the  small 
number  of  our  opponents ;  absurd  tales  and  popular 
fears  are  dying  out,  and  commerce  is  reviving.  Who 
can  lay  his  hand  on  his  breast  and  explain  what  he 
has  to  complain  of?  Never  was  there  a  more  settled 
calm  after  a  storm.  The  government,  which  has  en- 
dured for  eight  months,  is  so  firmly  established  that 
if  to-day  it  should  make  mistake  after  mistake,  it 


THE  DISTRIBUTION   OF  FLAGS  105 

would  continue  to  exist  in  spite  of  its  errors."  And, 
exulting  over  the  wisdom  of  the  King,  the  author  of 
the  CrSnie  du  Christianisme  adds :  "  Immovable  on 
his  throne,  the  King  has  calmed  the  waves  around 
him ;  he  has  yielded  to  no  influence  and  to  no 
party.  His  patience  confounds ;  his  goodness  subju- 
gates and  enchains,  and  his  serenity  is  communicated 
to  all.  .  .  .  When  anybody  comes  nigh  him,  he  always 
seems  to  say :  '  Where  could  you  find  a  better  father  ? 
Let  me  heal  your  wounds.  I  forget  my  own  that  I 
may  remember  only  those  of  others.  At  my  age  and 
after  my  misfortunes  can  I  love  the  throne  on  account 
of  myself  ?  It  is  for  you  that  I  am  on  it ;  I  would 
make  you  as  happy  as  you  have  been  unfortunate.' 
Any  man  who  observes  himself  and  the  course  of 
events  and  fails  to  heap  blessings  on  the  prince 
whom  heaven  has  restored  to  us,  is  unworthy  to  be 
ruled  by  such  a  prince." 

The  Bourbons  thought  they  could  depend  on  the 
army.  At  the  beginning  of  December,  Marshal  Soult 
had  been  made  Minister  of  War.  He  was  then  the 
favorite  of  the  most  outspoken  royalists.  When 
he  was  commandant  of  the  13th  Military  Division 
and  governor  of  Brittany,  he  formed,  in  October,  a 
Breton  society  for  erecting  a  monument  in  memory 
of  Duguesclin,  Constable  of  France.  In  the  follow- 
ing month  he  started  a  subscription  to  erect  a  monu- 
ment on  the  island  of  Quiberon,  and  a  mortuary 
chapel  at  La  Chartreuse,  near  Auray,  on  the  field 
where  the  defenders  of  the  royal  cause  had  fallen, 


16G  TUE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

and  which  had  been  consecrated  under  the  name  of 
the  "  Field  of  Martyrs."  In  the  salons  of  the  Fau- 
bourg Saint-Germain  the  marshal  then  passed  for  an 
exceedingly  circumspect  man.  He  added  greatly  to 
his  reputation  by  establishing  a  chapel  in  the  man- 
sion of  the  Ministry  of  War,  and  having  Mass  cel- 
ebrated in  it,  which  he  attended  with  edifying 
regularity.  He  promised  to  maintain  the  strictest 
discipline  in  the  army,  and  to  show  no  pity  to  officers 
who  were  suspected  of  Bonapartist  tendencies.  One 
of  his  first  ministerial  acts  was  to  nominate  for  Grand 
Chancellor  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  an  old  SmigrS^ 
Count  de  Bruges,  who  was  one  of  the  men  most 
respected  at  the  Pavilion  of  Marsan.  The  royalists 
said  that,  with  a  commander  of  the  character,  energy, 
and  loyalty  of  Marshal  Soult,  the  army  would  be  as 
obedient  as  a  child  under  the  rod.  They  never  sus- 
pected that,  six  months  afterwards,  the  marshal 
would  be  in  the  field  as  the  major-general  of 
Napoleon. 


XVI 

SAINT-DENIS 

THE  day  of  the  aniversary  of  the  murder  of  Louis 
XVI.  was  drawing  near.  While  Louis  XVIIL 
was  exulting  in  the  Tuileries,  no  one  knew  what  had 
become  of  the  remains  of  the  martyred  King  and 
Queen.  On  the  21st  of  January,  1793,  the  dead  body 
of  Louis  XVI.,  and  on  the  16th  of  October,  in  the 
same  year,  that  of  Queen  Marie  Antoinette,  had  been 
dragged  in  a  cart  from  the  Place  de  la  Revolution, 
the  place  of  execution,  to  the  cemetery  of  the  Made- 
leine, adjoining  the  street  of  Anjou-Saint-Honor^. 
No  tombs  marked  the  spot  where  either  the  decapi- 
tated King  or  Queen  was  buried.  There  was  nothing 
to  indicate  their  graves,  —  no  inscription,  no  stone, 
no  cross,  —  nothing;  absolutely  nothing.  The  very 
cemetery  itself  had  ceased  to  exist.  At  that  time,  as 
little  respect  had  been  paid  to  cemeteries  as  to 
churches.  The  graveyard  had  been  sold  to  private 
persons  like  common  soil,  and  without  care  for  the 
dead.  Nevertheless,  the  man  who  had  bought  that 
part  of  it  where  the  King  and  Queen  lay,  was  a  roy- 
alist with  a  taste  for  souvenirs.  His  name  was  M. 
Descloseaux.      He  planted  some  trees   to  serve   as 

167 


168  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL&ME 

data.  But  under  the  Revolution  and  the  Empire, 
nobody  but  himself  went  to  meditate  in  the  sacred 
enclosure.  There  were  no  pilgrimages,  no  prayers; 
and  it  was  only  approximately  known  where  the 
bodies  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  were 
interred. 

The  government  of  Louis  XVIII.  ordered  that 
research  be  made.  Four  witnesses  of  the  burials 
were  interrogated.  These  were  a  priest,  a  judge,  a 
registrar,  and  a  lawyer.  The  body  first  found  was 
the  Queen's.  The  lime  had  not  entirely  consumed 
it.  The  expression  of  the  face  was  recognized,  and 
some  fragments  of  dress  aided  in  the  identification. 
King  Louis  XVI.'s  body  was  found  near  by.  The 
severed  head  had  been  placed  between  the  legs,  which 
now,  by  the  action  of  time  and  lime,  had  dwindled  to 
mere  bones.  A  proces-verbal,  signed  by  the  principal 
personages  of  the  realm,  verified  this  double  dis- 
covery. 

The  bodies  were  exhumed  on  the  18th  of  January, 
1815.  On  the  next  day  the  Journal  des  DShats  con- 
tained an  article  by  Chateaubriand  which  began  as 
follows :  "  The  21st  of  January  is  at  hand,  and  for  a 
long  time  the  question  has  been  asked :  '  What  shall 
we  do  ?  What  shall  France  do  ?  Shall  that  mourn- 
ful day  be  allowed  to  pass  without  any  mark  of 
regret  ?  Where  are  the  ashes  of  Louis  XVI.  ?  Who 
has  them  in  keeping  ? '  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
piety  of  an  obscure  citizen  it  would  scarcely  be 
known  to-day  where  lies  the  sacred  body  of  that  King 


SAINT-DENIS  169 


who  should  repose  in  Saint-Denis  beside  Louis  XII. 
and  Charles  the  Wise.  For  several  years  they 
sought  to  turn  the  day  of  the  death  of  this  just  man 
into  a  day  of  rejoicing ;  but  how  blind  were  the  fac- 
tions !  While  they  were  attempting  to  remove  the 
pall  of  mourning  that  covered  our  country,  and 
while  they  were  ordaining  derisory  pomps,  citizens 
were  multiplying  the  marks  of  their  grief ;  each 
wept  in  solitude,  or  caused  the  expiatory  sacrifice 
celebrated  in  secret. 

"In  vain,"  continued  Chateaubriand,  "did  a  few 
men  summon  the  masses  to  abominable  spectacles ; 
public  sorrow  seemed  to  say  to  them :  '  No,  France 
is  not  guilty  along  with  you;  she  has  no  share  in 
your  crimes  and  festivals.'  What  an  abyss  of  reflec- 
tions !  How  great  is  the  resemblance  between  the 
occurrences,  the  times,  the  places,  and  the  funereal 
pomps  of  Saint  Louis  and  Louis  the  Martyr ! " 

This  eloquent  writer  then  recalls  the  fact  that 
Napoleon  restored  the  vaults  of  the  Church  of  Saint- 
Denis,  in  the  hope  that  they  would  be  his  imperial 
sepulchre.  "Why,"  adds  the  author  of  the  GSnie 
du  Christianisme,  "is  Saint-Denis  vacant?  Rather 
let  us  ask  why  its  roof  has  been  restored ;  why  is  its 
altar  rebuilt?  What  hand  reconstructed  the  vault 
of  those  crypts  and  made  ready  those  once  empty 
tombs?  The  hand  of  the  very  man  who  sat  on  the 
throne  of  the  Bourbons.  O  Providence !  He  imag- 
ined that  he  was  preparing  the  sepulclires  of  his  own 
race,  and  he   was   but   building  the  tomb  of  Louis 


170  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

XVI.  Injustice  reigns  but  for  an  instant;  wisdom 
alone  has  regard  for  ancestors  and  leaves  a  posterity. 
Behold  at  the  same  time,  the  Master  of  the  Earth 
meet  his  downfall,  Louis  XVIII.  grasp  his  sceptre 
once  more,  and  Louis  XVI.  restored  to  the  sepul- 
chre of  his  fathers !  The  kingship  of  the  legitimate 
monarchs  has  slumbered  for  twenty  years ;  but  their 
rights,  founded  on  their  virtues,  were,  like  their 
nobleness,  indestructible.  At  one  blow,  God  ends 
that  terrible  revolution,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
Kings  of  France  regain  their  throne  and  their  tombs." 
It  was  also  announced  that  while  the  mortal 
remains  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  were 
being  taken  to  Saint-Denis,  the  first  stone  of  the 
monument  which  France  was  about  to  erect  on  the 
Place  Louis  XV.,  where  the  King  and  Queen  were 
guillotined,  would  be  laid.  This  monument  was 
intended  to  represent  Louis  XVI.  about  to  mount 
the  scaffold.  An  angel  was  to  support  him,  and 
seem  to  repeat  the-  celebrated  phrase:  "Son  of 
Saint  Louis,  ascend  to  heaven ! "  On  one  face  of 
the  pedestal  was  to  be  a  medallion  portrait  of  Marie 
Antoinette,  having  as  its  legend  those  magnanimoiLS 
words  of  the  Queen :  "  I  have  seen  all,  understood 
all,  and  forgotten  all."  On  another  face  of  the 
pedestal,  there  was  to  be  a  bas-relief  portrait  of 
Madame  Elisabeth,  surrounded  by  these  words :  "  Do 
not  undeceive  them,"  —  that  heroic  and  sublime 
expression  uttered  by  the  saintly  Princess  on  the 
20th  of  June,  1792,  when  the  Tuileries  was  invaded 


SAINT-DENIS  171 


by  men  who,  mistaking  her  for  the  Queen,  threatened 
to  murder  her.  On  the  third  side  of  the  pedestal 
was  to  be  inscribed  the  will  of  Louis  XVI.;  that 
beautiful  line :  "  I  pardon  with  my  whole  soul  all 
who  have  made  themselves  my  enemies,"  was  to 
appear  in  very  large  letters.  The  fourth  face  would 
bear  the  escutcheon  of  France  with  the  following 
inscription :  "  Louis  XVIII.  to  Louis  X  VI." 

After  having  given  the  details  of  the  project, 
Chateaubriand  added  :  "  The  King,  who  hitherto  has 
not  ventured  to  go  to  that  bloody  field,  may  some 
day  pass  it,  if  not  without  sorrow,  at  least  without 
horror,  whilst  the  judge  of  Louis  XVL,  in  the  shelter 
of  this  monument  of  pity,  may  himself  visit  the  spot, 
if  not  without  remorse,  at  least  without  fear.  In  fine, 
this  monument  will  be  a  source  of  consolation  to  all 
Frenchmen." 

Exactly  twenty-two  years  after  the  execution  of 
Louis  XVL,  —  that  is  to  say,  on  the  21st  of  January, 
1814,  —  the  ashes  of  the  King  and  Queen  were  borne 
to  the  abbey  church  of  Saint-Denis,  and  their  solemn 
obsequies  were  celebrated  at  that  necropolis  of  Kings. 
About  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  King's 
brother,  the  Count  of  Artois,  and  his  two  sons,  the 
Dukes  of  Angouleme  and  of  Berry,  went  to  the  rue 
d'Anjou-Saint-IIonor^,  to  the  enclosure  in  which  now 
stands  the  expiatory  chapel,  built  by  the  architects 
Fontaine  and  Percier,  and  modelled  after  a  mortuary 
church  of  Rimini.  Both  coffins  were  deposited  under 
a  tent,  "  an  image,"  says  M.  Alfred  Nettement,  "  of 


172  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

the  instability  of  everything  in  this  land  of  France, 
to  which  all  things  come  and  where  nothing  re- 
mains." 

The  three  princes,  one  a  brother  and  the  other 
two  nephews  of  the  martyred  King,  kneel  and  pray 
for  a  long  time,  beside  the  coffins.  At  nine  o'clock, 
the  funeral  procession  moves  through  the  rue  Saint- 
Honord,  and  then  along  the  boulevards.  The  mortal 
remains  of  the  King  and  Queen  were  carried  on  a 
car,  by  twelve  members  of  the  Scotch  company 
of  the  body-guards.  Notwithstanding  the  extreme 
coldness  of  the  day,  there  was  a  vast  crowd  all  along 
the  route.  The  procession  moved  in  the  following 
order :  a  detachment  of  gendarmes,  a  squadron  of  hus- 
sars, companies  of  grenadiers  and  light  infantry,  march- 
ing in  close  rank  and  carrying  their  guns  reversed  on 
the  left  arm ;  General  Maison,  governor  of  Paris,  with 
his  staff,  a  mounted  detachment  of  the  national 
guards,  and  a  battalion  of  foot  of  the  national  guard 
preceding  General  Dessoles ;  a  half-squadron  of 
mounted  grenadiers  of  the  King's  body-guard,  in 
advance  of  three  coaches,  each  drawn  by  eight  horses, 
and  in  which  were  the  chief  officers  of  the  princes ; 
a  half-squadron  of  light-horse ;  eight  eight-horse  car- 
riages in  which  were  the  principal  officers  of  the 
crown ;  the  carriage  of  the  King's  brother  and  the 
Dukes  of  Angouleme  and  Berry ;  four  heralds-of- 
arms  and  the  king-of-arms,  all  mounted ;  the  Grand 
Master  of  Ceremonies,  with  masters  and  aides,  all 
mounted  also ;  the  funeral  car,  with  the  captains  of 


SAINT-DENIS  173 


the  red  companies,  one  at  each  wheel.  Troops  and 
a  great  number  of  the  King's  coaches  closed  the  pro- 
cession. The  regiments  of  the  Paris  garrison  lined 
the  rue  d'Anjou  as  far  as  the  barrier  of  Saint-Denis. 
Everything  wore  an  aspect  of  sorrow.  The  flags 
were  draped.  It  was  remembered  that  some  of  the 
men  who  took  part  in  the  ceremonies  had  followed 
Louis  XVI.  when  he  was  removed  from  the  Temple 
to  the  place  of  execution.  The  muffled  drums  which 
at  intervals  gave  forth  their  deep  tones  did  not  pre- 
clude the  thought  of  other  drums,  those  of  Santerre, 
which  drowned  the  voice  of  Louis  XVI.  when  the 
Martyr-King  wished  to  speak  words  of  pardon  from 
the  scaffold.  The  procession  moved  slowly  in  the 
midst  of  a  crowd  of  spectators.  Survivors  of  the  Rev- 
olution told  their  children  about  the  21st  of  January, 
1793.  They  said  that  on  that  day  all  Paris,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  madmen,  was  deeply  grieved  and 
that  remorse  already  hovered  over  the  great  capital. 

The  Duchess  of  Angouleme  was  not  present  at  the 
ceremony,  as  it  was  not  then  customary  for  daugh- 
ters to  appear  at  the  funerals  of  their  fathers  and 
mothers.  But  everybody  thought  of  the  orphan  of 
the  Temple.  She  remained  at  the  Tuileries  locked 
in  her  oratory,  praying  and  weeping.  There  she 
listened  to  the  far-off  echo  of  salvos  of  artillery  dis- 
charged every  minute  at  the  barrier  Saint-Denis,  by 
a  battery  from  the  provinces,  while  the  funeral  pro- 
cession, which  did  not  reach  the  ancient  necropolis 
till  noon,  moved  along. 


174  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

The  sight  of  the  abbey  stirred  sinister  thoughts. 
It  was  to  that  place  that  the  regicides  had  pursued 
even  death,  to  rummage,  mutilate,  and  violate  the 
tombs  of  the  kings.  At  length  the  hour  of  puri- 
fication had  sounded,  the  blessed  hour  which  the 
daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  had 
so  longed  for  during  the  long  anguish  of  captivity 
and  exile.  The  multitude  that  thronged  the  church 
was  deeply  moved.  Beside  the  cenotaph  were  the 
Duke  of  Orleans,  his  sister,  his  wife,  the  Prince  of 
Cond6,  and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Bourbon. 
Four  hundred  daughters  of  the  Legion  of  Honor 
were  assembled  in  the  nave.  The  Abb6  de  Boulogne, 
Bishop  of  Troyes,  and  the  most  renowned  preacher  of 
his  day,  ascended  the  pulpit.  "Peoples  and  kings!" 
he  exclaimed,  "by  your  battered  and  encompassed 
capitals,  you  recognize  at  last  the  terrible  truth,  that 
regicide  is  the  greatest  calamity  that  God  can  draw 
from  the  treasure-house  of  His  justice  ! "  And  the 
audience  trembled  when,  in  a  burning  apostrophe 
to  the  revolutionists,  the  priest  said  :  "  Insensates  ! 
you  thought  you  debased  your  King,  and  you  have 
enhanced  his  glory !  You  trampled  under  foot  his 
earthly  crown,  and  you  have  circled  his  brow  with  a 
crown  of  immortality.  When  you  bound  his  anointed 
hands,  you  showed  that  they  alone  were  worthy  to 
bear  the  sceptre  !  In  irons.  Saint  Louis  was  a  king. 
Louis  XVI.  was  a  king  on  the  scaffold  !  .  .  .  Next 
to  the  deicide  committed  by  a  reprobate  people,  the 
greatest  crime  that  ever  sullied  the  earth  is  regicide. 


SAINT-DENIS  175 


the  outrage  whose  anniversary  we  this  day  deplore." 
And  the  priest  went  on  to  say :  "  You  have  not  for- 
gotten these  words  of  a  dying  king :  '  I  desire  that 
my  blood  shall  bring  happiness  to  France.'  Yes, 
princes,  do  not  doubt  it.  That  blood  will  save 
France,  as  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  saved  the 
world." 

The  King's  brother  and  the  Dukes  of  Angouleme 
and  Berry  descended  into  the  vault  where  the 
remains  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  were 
to  repose  forever.  They  prostrated  themselves  at 
the  tomb  of  the  martyrs,  and,  in  the  words  of  the 
Moniteur:  "Their  only  regret  in  regard  to  the  duties 
which  called  them  to  this  mournful  place  is  that  all 
France  could  not  have  witnessed  their  profound 
veneration  and  their  pious  grief."  The  office  for 
the  dead  put  the  royalists  who  were  present  into 
a  sort  of  holy  intoxication.  The  old  Count  of 
Suzannet,  who  had  fought  in  the  armies  of  Vendue, 
and  was  a  faithful  servant  of  the  throne,  was  so 
affected  by  it  that  he  had  to  be  carried  out  of  the 
".hurch,  and  died  a  short  time  afterwards. 

"  I  will  tell  you,"  says  Chateaubriand,  "  about  the 
nightmare  with  which  I  was  oppressed  when,  on  the 
evening  of  the  ceremony,  I  wandered  through  the 
half-deserted  basilica.  It  may  readily  be  understood 
that  among  these  crumbling  tombs  I  reflected  on  the 
vanity  of  human  greatness, —  such  moralizing  is  com- 
mon enough  and  would  have  arisen  from  the  spec- 
tacle  itself,  —  but  my  mind  did   not  stop  there.     I 


176  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

penetrated  into  the  nature  of  mankind.  Is  all  empty 
and  forsaken  in  the  place  of  the  dead?  Is  there 
nothing  in  this  nothingness?  Does  nothing  exist 
where  nothing  is,  and  are  there  no  thoughts  in  dust? 
Have  bones  no  modes  of  life  of  which  we  are  igno- 
rant? Who  can  tell  the  passions,  the  pleasures,  the 
tender  thoughts  of  the  dead?  All  that  they  have 
dreamed,  believed,  hoped  —  have  all  things  become 
but  phantoms  like  them  and,  like  them,  been  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  abyss  ?  Dreams,  hope,  joy,  sorrow, 
freedom,  and  slavery,  strength  and  weakness,  crime 
and  virtue,  honor  and  shame,  wealth  and  penury, 
talents,  genius,  intelligence,  glory,  illusions,  loves,  — 
are  you  but  for  a  moment?  Are  you  but  fleeting 
sensations  that  are  destroyed  with  the  skulls  in 
which  they  were  engendered,  with  the  lifeless  breast 
where  once  beat  a  heart?  .  .  .  Let  us  close  our 
eyes  and  fill  tlie  maddening  abyss  of  life  with  these 
grand  and  mysterious  words  of  the  martyr :  '  I  am 
a  Christian.'  " 

And  yet,  despite  its  majesty,  this  religious  cere- 
mony did  not  disarm  all  regicidal  hate.  A  sinister 
incident  is  mentioned  as  having  taken  place  during 
the  procession  at  a  point  on  the  way  from  the  rue 
d'Anjou  to  Saint-Denis. 

The  decorations  of  the  funeral  car  having  caught 
on  a  street  lamp,  several  persons  set  up  the  regicidal 
cry,  the  cry  of  the  most  terrible  days  of  the  Revolu- 
tion :  "  To  the  lamp-post !  "  "  While  Louis  XVIII.," 
says   M.   Alfred    Nettement,    "was  paying    to   the 


SAINT-DENIS  177 


memory  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  the 
tribute  of  mourning  and  just  regret,  and  while  by 
far  the  larger  part  of  the  public  shared  in  these 
manifestations,  the  revolutionists  were  filled  with 
indignation  by  them."  Nothing  is  more  sensitive 
than  remorse.  Those  who  had  imbued  their  hands 
in  the  blood  of  the  King  and  Queen  looked  upon  the 
honors  paid  to  their  memory  as  an  insult  directed 
against  the  regicides.  Instead  of  comparing  the 
moderation  of  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons  with 
the  bloody  reprisals  of  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts, 
these  men  were  afflicted  because  regret  was  felt  for 
those  to  whom  they  had  shown  no  pity. 

Doubtless  there  was  at  that  time  considerable 
exaggeration  in  the  zeal  of  the  royalists.  The 
funeral  oration  by  the  Abb^  de  Boulogne  contained 
such  violent  anathemas  against  the  Revolution  that 
the  ministry  did  not  deem  it  advisable  to  let  it  be 
printed  in  the  Moniteur.  The  newspapers,  exulting 
over  the  circumstance,  were  too  forgetful  of  the 
saintly  words  of  Louis  XVI.'s  will :  "  I  recommend 
my  son,  if  he  shall  have  the  misfortune  to  become 
King,  to  remember  that  he  ought  to  devote  himself 
entirely  to  the  happiness  of  his  fellow-citizens ;  that 
he  should  forget  all  hatred  and  all  resentment,  and 
particularly  everything  that  has  any  connection  with 
the  misfortunes  and  sorrows  that  I  have  endured." 
But,  in  spite  of  all,  Madame  de  Stael  was  right  in 
saying :  "  No  one  could  see  without  emotion  the 
obsequies  of  Louis  XVI.     The  heart  turned  wholly 


178  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULAmE 

to  the  sufferings  of  that  Princess  who  went  back  to 
palaces,  not  to  enjoy  their  splendor,  but  to  honor  the 
dead  and  to  seek  for  their  bloody  remains.  It  has 
been  said  that  that  ceremony  was  impolitic,  but  it 
gave  rise  to  so  much  affection  that  no  blame  should 
attach  to  it."  No,  the  solemnities  of  the  21st  of 
January,  1815,  were  not  impolitic.  Th^y  produced 
a  deep  impression  on  men  of  every  party.  For  Louis 
XVIII.  they  were  the  accomplishment  of  an  impera- 
tive duty,  and  for  the  Restoration  they  were  a  sacra- 
ment of  piety  and  sorrow. 


XVII 


THE  BEGINNING  OP   1815 


THE  lugubrious  memories  of  the  21st  of  January 
did  not  prevent  that  month  from  being  brilliant 
at  couit  and  in  the  salons  of  the  Faubourg  Saint- 
Germain.  Receptions,  fStes,  and  gala  plays  at  the 
royal  theatres  were  given  both  before  and  after  that 
mournful  anniversary.  On  the  10th  of  January,  the 
King  and  royal  family  went  to  the  Opera,  where 
Castor  et  Pollux  was  rendered.  In  its  report  of 
the  proceedings  of  that  evening  the  Journal  des 
DSbats  said:  "People  waited  impatiently  for  some 
happy  allusion  in  the  play,  and  were  beginning  to 
despair ;  but  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  act,  in  the  only 
fine  scene  in  the  opera.  Lays,  in  a  deep  and  sonorous 
voice,  pronounced  these  two  lines :  — 

"  '  The  universe  demanded  thy  return ; 
Reign  o'er  a  faithful  people.' 

Never  did  electricity  produce  a  swifter  effect.  The 
entire  audience  instantly  sprang  to  its  feet,  turned  to 
the  King's  box,  and  seemed  to  repeat  affectionately 
the  truth  contained  in  the  first  line,  and  the  senti- 
ment expressed  in  the  second." 

179 


180  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUhtME 

Society  was  very  animated  in  the  Faubourg  Saint- 
Germain.  The  salons  of  the  aristocracy  regained 
their  brilliancy.  One  would  have  thought  that  the 
days  of  the  old  r<?girae  had  returned.  Whoever, 
among  persons  of  good  standing  at  court,  should 
have  expressed  the  least  doubt  as  to  the  stability  of 
the  royal  edifice  would  have  been  treated  as  an 
alarmist  and  poltroon.  Perhaps  he  might  even  have 
been  called  a  fool.  All  conversations  in  the  fashion- 
able world  were  about  trifles.  Only  balls  arid  thea- 
tres were  talked  about.  The  Duke  of  Berry,  with  a 
surrounding  of  brilliant  young  people,  received  in  his 
apartments  at  the  Tuileries.  The  highest  boon  that 
could  be  received  was  an  invitation  to  his  parties. 
The  Prince's  first  ball  was  given  on  the  12th  of  Jan- 
uary, and  to  it  only  four  hundred  and  fifty  guests 
were  invited. 

On  the  26th  of  January,  there  was  a  reception  at 
the  Tuileries.  Next  day  the  DShats  said :  "  At  yes- 
terday's reception  the  King,  with  infinite  grace, 
thanked  Madame  de  Stael  for  having  sent  him  M. 
Necker's  defence  of  Louis  XVI.  He  talked  a  long 
time  with  the  lady,  which  proves  that  Louis  XVIIL 
is  not  afraid  of  intellectual  women,  and  that,  in  his 
reign,  — 

" '  One  may  be  pure,  although  she  be  renowned.' " 

On  the  30th  of  January,  the  King,  his  brother, 
and  the  Duchess  of  Angoul^me  were  in  their  box 
at  a  play  at  the  Th^^tre  Fran9ais.     The  pieces  were 


THE  BEGINNING    OF  IS  15  181 

the  Homme  du  Jour  and  the  Partie  de  ehasse  de 
Henri  IV.  The  galleries  and  balconies  were  occu- 
pied by  elegantly  dressed  ladies.  Everybody  rose 
when  the  royal  family  entered.  In  the  supper  scene 
of  the  third  act  the  health  of  King  Henri  is  drunk, 
and  when  it  was  reached,  the  enthusiasm  knew  no 
bou:ids.  The  audience  sang  in  chorus  the  refrain  of 
tke  famous  song :  — 

"  Vive  Henri  IV.    Vive  ce  roi  vaillant ! " 

The  King  and  his  family  returned  to  the  Tuileries 
by  torch-light  in  a  large  open  carriage. 

On  the  2d  of  February,  another  ball  was  given  by 
the  Duke  of  Berry.  The  whole  royal  family  was 
present.  The  King  came  at  ten  o'clock  and  did  not 
withdraw  till  shortly  before  supper.  As  soon  as  the 
princes  and  princesses  of  the  blood  took  their  places 
at  the  banquet  table,  where  also  sat  a  hundred  and 
fifty  court  ladies,  the  curtain,  which  concealed  a 
small  theatre  prepared  among  the  pillars,  was  raised ; 
artists  from  the  Opdra-Comique  were  seen  behind  a 
gauze  veil,  which  produced  a  charming  effect;  and 
the  actors  rendered  a  divertissement,  the  words  of 
which  were  by  Dupaty  and  the  music  by  Bo'ieldieu. 
Its  title  was  the  Troubadours  voyageurs.  Mademoi- 
selle Regnault,  Madame  Boulanger,  and  Madame 
Gavaudan  took  the  parts  of  the  damsels,  and  Baptiste 
played  the  troubadour.  On  the  following  day,  the 
3d  of  February,  the  entire  royal  family  attended  a 
representation  at  the  Th^atre-Comique. 


182  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

The  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  was  seen  at  theatres, 
but  still  oftener  at  the  hospitals,  where  her  benefi- 
cence was  edifying.  She  visited  the  Sa;lp^tridre  on 
the  7th  of  January,  the  Orphans'  Hospital  of  the 
Faubourg  Saint-Antoine  on  the  13th,  and  the  H6tel- 
Dieu  on  the  28th. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  there  was  a  family  supper 
at  court,  and  afterwards  a  dramatic  representation  in 
the  Gallery  of  Diana.  Actors  from  the  Theatre  des 
Varidt^s  played  before  the  sovereign. 

Everybody  about  the  King  was  filled  with  opti- 
mism. Intelligence  from  abroad  was  completely  sat- 
isfactory. At  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  France  secured 
an  amount  of  moral  force  which  it  would  have  been 
hard  to  expect  a  few  weeks  before.  Marshal  Soult, 
who  was  steadily  growing  in  favor,  said  that  he  could 
rely  on  the  army.  Besides  this,  the  body-guards 
and  the  officers  of  the  King's  military  household 
never  ceased  to  repeat  that  with  nothing  but  their 
fencing-foils  they  could  easily  parley  with  Bona- 
partist  sabres  and  bayonets.  No  one  regarded  as 
serious  the  opposition  of  the  Nain  Jaune^  a  satirical 
journal  that  was  published  every  five  days,  and  with 
which  the  King  himself  was  the  first  to  be  amused. 
This  little  sheet,  moreover,  never  spoke  of  Louis 
XVIII.  save  with  the  utmost  respect.  It  called  him 
only  Louis  the  Desired,  and  never  was  weary  of 
praising  the  Charter.  The  Nain  Jaune  was,  there- 
fore, permitted  to  create  its  imaginary  order  of  the 
"  Extinguisher,"  in  which  it  made  merry  with  a  cer- 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  1S15  183 

tain  M.  de  la  Jobardidre,  the  type  of  an  incorrigible 
old  emigre^  whom  it  maliciously  invented.  The 
whole  court  laughed  at  this  and  quoted  the  words  of 
Beaumarchais :  "It  is  only  little  men  who  are  sus- 
picious of  little  writers."  Begone,  dull  care  I  There 
is  nothing  to  worry  about !  What  object  is  there  in 
bothering  over  the  little  King  of  Elba  ?  Is  not  the 
Anglo-French  fleet  that  keeps  watch  over  that  rock  a 
guarantee  more  than  sufficient  ?  Isn't  it  better  worth 
while  to  be  interested  in  the  Italian  troupe  which 
will  presently  appear  at  the  Hall  Favart  under  the 
direction  and  with  the  assistance  of  Madame  Cata- 
lani  ? 

Nevertheless,  the  calm  was  a  deceptive  one.  Pas- 
sions that  seemed  to  have  died  out  were  more  alive 
than  ever.  The  disquietude  of  those  who  had 
seized  the  national  property  increased  every  day. 
So  great  was  the  confidence  of  many  old  SmigrSs 
in  an  approaching  restitution  of  what  belonged  to 
them,  that,  though  some  accepted  offers  of  compro- 
mise that  were  made  to  them  through  fear,  others 
utterly  refused  to  do  so  in  any  shape  or  form.  The 
story  of  a  priest  is  told,  who  said  from  the  pulpit 
that  those  who  held  national  property  and  refused 
to  restore  it,  would  suffer  the  fate  of  Jezebel  and 
be  devoured  by  dogs.  The  Journal  royal  said  that 
an  old  chevalier  of  Saint  Louis,  who  had  had  the  bad 
luck  to  purchase  some  landed  property  once  owned 
by  emigres,!  returned  it  to  its  rightful  owners  before 
replacing  on  his  breast  a  mark  of  honor  that  could 


184  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

not  be  reconciled  with  the  seizure  of  Naboth's  field. 
Alexandre  de  Puymaigre,  a  contemporary  witness, 
said:  "The  more  the  royal  machine  went  ahead, 
the  more  it  went  astray  in  the  labyrinth  of  preten- 
sions put  forward  by  the  two  regimes  and  the  em- 
barrassments occasioned  them  by  exasperated  enemies 
and  imprudent  friends.  So  far  from  the  parties 
becoming  reconciled  to  each  other,  they  turned  the 
theatres,  restaurants,  promenades,  and  all  public 
places  into  arenas  where  they  showed  their  mutual 
antipathy  in  acts,  sarcasm,  and  base  caricatures." 

The  parlors  of  Queen  Hortense  became  a  hotbed 
of  the  Bonapartist  opposition.  True,  the  former 
Queen  of  Holland  permitted  herself  to  show  no 
hostility  to  Louis  XVIII.,  who  had  made  her  Duchess 
of  Saint-Leu.  She  had  audience  of  the  King  and 
was  received  most  graciously.  Encouraged  by  the 
quiet  attitude  of  the  Tuileries  toward  them,  the  old 
partisans  of  Napoleon  began  to  raise  their  heads 
once  more.  As  yet  their  hopes  were  only  vague, 
but  they  hoped.  All  intelligent  observers  saw  that 
the  Bourbons  had  everything  to  fear  from  the  army. 
"  Most  of  the  regiments,"  says  M.  de  Puymaigre, 
"retained  their  love  for  the  Emperor  and  their 
hatred  of  the  Bourbons.  I  recollect  that  once  while 
I  was  staying  at  the  H6tel  de  I'Ecu,  at  Montlu^on, 
I  found  the  host  much  scandalized  at  the  conduct 
of  a  colonel  of  hussars  whose  regiment  had  spent 
the  previous  day  in  the  village.  "  Your  dinner  is 
dear,"  said  the  colonel  to  him.     "  Is  it  because  meat 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  1815  185 

costs  a  great  deal  here  ?  It  is  cheap  in  Paris ;  you 
have  a  big  pig  for  a  napoleon."  All  these  symp- 
toms of  what  was  coming,  and  which  could  not 
escape  the  least  observant  eye,  were  despised  by  an 
incapable  ministry,  and  all  Paris  knew  that  a  return 
of  the  violet  was  expected  (the  violet  was  already 
tlie  Bonapartist  emblem,  and  the  soldiers  called  Na- 
poleon, Father  Violet),  and  yet  these  sorry  deposi- 
taries of  power  did  not  take  the  slightest  precautions. 
A  proof  that  the  court  felt  perfectly  secure  is 
that  at  the  close  of  February,  five  days  before  the 
Emperor  landed,  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  who 
certainly  would  not  have  quitted  Paris  had  she 
thought  that  the  throne  of  her  uncle  there  was  in 
the  least  danger,  went  to  Bordeaux  to  celebrate  the 
anniversary  of  the  12th  of  March,  1814,  the  day  on 
which  the  Duke  made  his  formal  entrance  into  the 
city,  and  inaugurated  the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII. 
The  journey  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  was  one  long 
ovation.  General  Decaen,  commander  of  the  11th 
Military  Division,  —  the  same  man  who  was  to 
unfurl  the  tricolor  a  few  days  afterwards,  —  an- 
nounced their  coming  arrival  in  an  order  of  the  day 
in  which  he  told  his  troops :  "  It  will  be  very  pleas- 
ant for  the  garrison  of  Bordeaux  to  mingle  in  the 
expression  of  public  joy  on  that  occasion,  the  expres- 
sion of  the  love  and  devotion  it  feels  for  the  worthy 
scions  of  the  best  kings  of  whom  France  can  boast." 
The  Duke  and  Duchess  left  Paris  on  the  27th  of 
February,  1815.     They  slept  at  Orleans  on  the  27th, 


186  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

at  Bourges  on  the  28th,  at  Issoudun  on  the  1st  of 
March,  and  at  Limoges  on  the  3d.  Everywhere 
they  passed  under  triumphal  arches  and  amid  ap- 
plause. 

All  Bordeaux  was  stirring  on  the  5th  of  March. 
It  flocked  to  the  banks  of  the  Gironde,  at  which  the 
Princess  and  her  husband  were  to  land.  Louis  XVL's 
daughter  had  never  visited  this  royalist  city,  and  she 
was  awaited  with  mingled  feelings  of  curiosity  and 
veneration.  At  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  beau- 
tiful gondola  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  appeared. 
It  was  preceded  and  followed  by  a  great  number 
of  boats  handsomely  decorated  with  white  flags. 
At  the  moment  when  the  daughter  and  the  nephew 
of  Louis  XVI.  left  their  craft  to  take  carriage, 
twenty  young  men  and  the  same  number  of  young 
girls  dressed  in  white  attached  themselves  to  the 
carriage  and  proceeded  to  draw  it.  The  streets 
were  strewn  with  verdure,  and  the  houses  hung 
with  tapestry,  while  flowers  were  scattered  profusely 
along  the  path  of  the  triumphal  procession.  When 
it  paused  for  an  instant  at  the  Place  de  la  Com^die, 
a  band  of  musicians,  placed  in  the  gallery  surmount- 
ing the  peristyle  of  the  Grand  Thd§,tre,  rendered 
the  famous  chorus  from  the  IphigSnie  :  — 

*'  Let  us  sing  and  celebrate  our  queen,"— 

a  chorus  of  which  Marie  Antoinette  was  very 
fond  and  which  had  very  often  been  sung  in  her 
honor. 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  1815  187 

The  5th,  6th,  7th,  and  8th  of  March  were  devoted 
to  fetes,  spectacles,  and  public  rejoicings.  The  mul- 
titude could  not  tire  of  the  pleasure  of  looking  upon 
the  face  of  the  orphan  of  the  Temple.  On  the  9th 
of  March,  the  Princess  and  her  husband  attended  a 
ball  given  to  them  by  the  local  merchants.  The 
whole  city  was  in  the  midst  of  rejoicings  when,  in 
the  afternoon,  a  courier  arrived  from  Paris  with  de- 
spatches for  the  Duke  of  Angouleme.  These  de- 
spatches announced  the  landing  of  Napoleon,  and 
ordered  the  Duke  to  go  to  Nimes  at  once,  and  there, 
as  lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom  for  the  depart- 
ment of  the  south,  take  command  of  the  five  southern 
military  divisions. 

The  first  words  spoken  by  the  Duchess  of  Angou- 
leme when  her  husband  told  her  the  purport  of  the 
despatches  were :  "  O,  that  this  strife  may  not  cost 
rivers  of  French  blood  !  "  However,  the  inhabitants 
of  Bordeaux  did  not  at  once  hear  the  startling  news. 
In  order  not  to  disturb  the  festivities  of  the  evening, 
the  Prince  and  Princess  decided  to  divulge  nothing 
till  the  next  day.  In  the  evening  they  went  to  the 
ball,  which  was  splendid,  and  betrayed  in  their  affa- 
ble and  calm  faces  no  trace  of  the  thoughts  that 
occupied  their  minds.  At  five  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, when  the  ball  was  hardly  over,  the  Duke  of 
Angouleme  left  his  wife  at  Bordeaux,  entered  a  post- 
chaise  with  an  aide-de-camp,  and  set  out  for  Nimes 
in  all  haste. 


XVIII 

THE  RETURN  OF  NAPOLEON 

FOR  several  weeks  there  had  been,  as  the  saying 
is,  "something  in  the  air"  at  Paris.  The  atti- 
tude of  the  troops  was  disquieting.  There  were  deep 
mutterings  in  their  ranks.  Cries  of  "Long  live  the 
Emperor ! "  had  more  than  once  been  heard,  and  on 
parade  when  the  soldiers  cried  "  Long  live  the  King ! " 
they  added  under  their  breath,  "  of  Rome."  Carica- 
tures, the  clandestine  sale  of  which  constantly 
increased,  represented  the  eagles  flying  in  through 
the  windows  of  the  Tuileries,  while  flocks  of  geese 
went  out  through  the  doors.  A  few  far-seeing  roy- 
alists had  vague  presentiments  of  evil.  "  A  constant 
dread,"  says  Madame  de  Stael,  "held  possession  of 
my  mind  for  some  weeks  before  the  landing  of  Bona- 
parte. In  the  evening,  when  the  fine  buildings  of 
the  city  were  lighted  by  the  moon's  rays,  it  seemed 
as  though  my  happiness  and  that  of  France  were 
like  a  sick  friend  whose  smile  is  sweeter  as  the  time 
of  separation  draws  near,"  The  ministers  were  in 
that  state  of  optimistic  tranquillity  which  always  pre- 
cedes the  downfall  of  a  government.  "It  is  well 
known,"  says  Count  de  Puyraaigre  in  his  Souvenirs, 
188 


THE  RETURN   OF  NAPOLEON  189 

that  "  the  Ahh6  de  Montesquieu,  Minister  of  the  Inte- 
rior, left  unopened  on  his  table  despatches  from  M.  de 
Bouthilier,  prefect  of  Var,  in  which,  fifteen  days 
before  the  event,  intelligence  of  the  projects  of  the 
man  from  Elba  was  contained,  and  that  the  minister 
treated  with  similar  indifference  despatches  which 
had  been  sent  to  him  on  the  same  subject  by  Gen- 
eral Bruslart,  commandant  in  Corsica." 

No  one  at  the  Tuileries  even  dreamed  of  the  danger 
when,  about  two  in  the  afternoon  of  the  5th  of 
March,  M.  de  Vitrolles,  Minister  of  State,  who  had 
the  control  of  the  telegraph  system,  sent  Louis  XVIII. 
a  sealed  envelope  addressed  to  the  sovereign.  This 
envelope  contained  a  copy  of  a  telegraphic  despatch 
received  at  Lyons,  and  which  M.  de  Vitrolles  had 
not  yet  read.  The  King  opened  the  envelope  and, 
after  glancing  at  its  contents,  said :  "  Do  you  know 
what  this  is?"  — "No,  Sire!"  "It  says  that  Bona- 
parte has  landed  on  the  coast  of  Provence."  Then 
he  added  calmly :  "  This  must  be  taken  to  the  Min- 
ister of  War,  who  will  see  what  is  to  be  done  about 
it."  At  this  time  the  southern  telegraph  line  did 
not  extend  beyond  Lyons.  Napoleon  landed  near 
Cannes,  on  the  Gulf  of  Juan,  on  the  1st  of  March, 
and  it  was  not  till  the  5th  that  General  Brayer, 
commandant  of  the  military  division  of  Lyons,  tele- 
graphed to  the  government  the  important  news  which 
he  had  received  by  courier  from  Marshal  Massdna, 
governor  of  Marseilles. 

General  Brayer's  despatch  read  as  follows :  "  On 


190  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

the  1st  of  March,  Bonaparte  landed  near  Cannes,  in 
the  department  of  Var,  with  twelve  hundred  men 
and  four  cannon,  and  went  on  towards  Digne  and 
Gap,  apparently  on  the  way  to  Grenoble.  Every 
means  has  been  taken  to  arrest  and  thwart  this  mad 
undertaking.  All  things  show  the  best  disposition 
in  the  southern  departments.  Public  tranquillity  is 
assured."  Louis  XVIII.  decided  to  keep  the  news 
secret  for  some  time,  and  the  Parisians  learned  it 
first  from  the  Moniteur  of  the  7th  of  March. 

Nevertheless  some  indiscreet  acts  were  committed, 
and  by  the  6th  the  news  began  to  circulate,  to  the 
great  joy  of  some  and  the  consternation  of  others. 

Let  us  hear  what  Madame  de  Stael  says :  "  Never 
shall  I  forget  the  moment  when,  on  the  6th  of  March, 
1815,  I  learned  from  one  of  my  friends  that  Bona- 
parte had  landed  on  the  coast  of  France.  I  at  once 
foresaw  with  sorrow  the  consequences  of  that  event 
just  as  they  afterwards  turned  out  to  be,  and  I  felt  as 
if  the  earth  was  opening  to  swallow  me  up.  ...  I 
said  to  M.  de  Lavelette,  whom  I  met  shortly  after 
hearing  the  news :  '  Liberty  is  over  if  Bonaparte 
triumphs,  and  national  independence  is  ended  if  he 
is  defeated.' " 

Louis  XVIII.  decided  that  his  brother  should  go 
at  once  to  Lyons  and  take  command  of  the  troops 
intended  to  stop  the  march  of  the  invader.  The 
King  summoned  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  and  directed 
him  to  follow  the  heir  apparent  to  Lyons  and  place 
himself  under  his  orders.     This  r61e  was  by  no  means 


THE  RETURN   OF  NAPOLEON  191 

pleasing  to  the  Duke,  but  Louis  XVIII.  dryly  gave 
him  to  understand  that  he  must  obey.  In  announc- 
ing the  departure  of  Monsieur  the  Moniteur  of  the 
7th  of  March  published  a  decree,  in  which  the  King 
called  for  an  immediate  session  of  the  Chambers, 
together  with  a  royal  proclamation^,  declaring  Bona- 
parte a  rebel  and  a  traitor. 

Although  intelligent  royalists  comprehended  the 
extreme  gravity  of  the  situation,  inconsiderate  royal- 
ists felt  or  pretended  to  feel  quite  joyous.  "  So  much 
the  better !  "  they  exclaimed.  "  The  bandit  has  laid 
a  trap  for  himself,  into  which  he  will  fall.  He  will 
be  hounded  like  a  deer.  He  will  be  shot  like  a  dog. 
He  will  be  harried."  To  harry  (courir  sus)  was  an 
expression  used  in  the  royal  proclamation.  Chateau- 
briand himself  grows  merry  over  this  archaic  phrase. 
He  says :  "  The  chief  measure  employed  against 
Bonaparte  was  an  order  that  he  be  harried.  Louis 
XVIIL,  the  legless,  running  down  and  harrying  the 
conqueror  who  bestrode  the  earth !  The  revival  of 
this  antique  legal  formula  on  such  an  occasion  is 
enough  to  show  the  perspicacity  of  the  statesmen  at 
that  epoch.  Harrying  in  1815  !  Harry  whom?  Harry 
a  wolf?  Harry  the  captain  of  a  band  of  brigands? 
Harry  a  robber  baron  ?  No ;  harry  Napoleon,  who 
had  harried,  caught  them,  and  branded  them  forever 
on  the  shoulder  with  his  ineradicable  N." 

However,  Louis  XVIIL  affected  an  imperturbable 
calmness.  In  spite  of  an  attack  of  the  gout,  he  re- 
ceived  all   the  ambassadors  on   the  7th  of   March. 


192  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULiSME 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  you  see  me  in  pain  ;  but  do 
not  deceive  yourselves ;  its  cause  is  not  anxiety  but 
the  gout.  Reassure  your  sovereigns  about  what  is 
going  on  in  France.  The  peace  of  Europe  will  be 
disturbed  no  more  than  that  of  my  kingdom." 

On  the  8th  of  March  the  Journal  des  DShats  said : 
"  Certain  shady  practices,  and  certain  manoeuvres  in 
Italy,  which  were  incited  by  his  stupid  brother-in-law, 
have  puffed  up  the  pride  of  the  cowardly  warrior  of 
Fontainebleau.  He  runs  a  chance  of  dying  the 
death  of  a  hero,  but  God  will  let  him  die  the  death 
of  a  traitor.  The  land  of  France  has  cast  him  out ; 
he  returns  to  it,  and  the  land  of  France  will  be  his 
grave.  On  what  friends  can  he  rely?  On  the 
fathers  and  brothers  of  the  thousands  whom  he 
drove  before  him  on  his  distant  and  barbarous  ex- 
peditions? On  the  magistrates  whom  he  outraged, 
the  judges  whom  he  insulted  in  their  own  courts? 
On  which  of  his  old  partisans?  On  the  generals, 
whose  glory  he  labored  so  hard  to  obscure,  in  order 
that  all  of  which  he  had  robbed  them  might  make 
his  own  glory  shine  more  brightly,  the  generals 
whom  he  released  from  their  vows,  and  who  will 
so  much  the  better  keep  those  which  they  have  taken 
since  then  ?  " 

On  the  same  day,  the  8th  of  March,  1815,  Marshal 
Soult,  the  Minister  of  War,  addressed  an  order  of  the 
day  to  the  army,  in  which  he  —  he  who  a  few  weeks 
afterwards  was  to  be  the  Emperor's  major-general  at 
Waterloo,  said :  "  Soldiers,  the  man  who  but  recently 


THE  BETURN   OF  NAPOLEON  193 

and  before  the  eyes  of  all  Europe  abdicated  the 
power  he  had  usurped,  and  of  which  he  made  such 
desperate  use,  Bonaparte,  has  landed  on  French  soil, 
which  he  had  no  claims  to  see  again.  What  does  he 
want?  Civil  war.  Where  does  he  look  for  it? 
Among  traitors.  Where  does  he  expect  to  find  it? 
Among  those  soldiers  whom  he  has  so  often  deceived 
by  practising  on  their  bravery.  Will  it  be  made  in 
the  name  of  those  families  which  his  name  alone  still 
fills  with  dread?  Bonaparte  has  contempt  enough 
for  us  to  think  that  we  will  abandon  a  legitimate 
and  well-loved  sovereign  to  share  the  fate  of  a  mere 
adventurer.  He  believes  this,  the  insensate  man, 
and  his  latest  mad  act  shows  that  he  believes  it. 
Soldiers,  the  French  army  is  the  bravest  army  in 
Europe  !     It  will  prove  itself  the  most  faithful." 

On  the  9th  of  March,  Louis  XVIII.,  seated  on 
one  of  the  balconies  of  the  Tuileries,  saw  the  Paris 
garrison  and  the  national  guard  defile  in  the  court- 
yard. They  cheered  lustily.  Of  their  own  accord 
the  regiments  of  the  line  waved  their  shakos  from 
the  points  of  their  bayonets,  and  cried :  "  Long  live 
the  King !  "  "  To  see  the  enthusiasm,"  says  Count 
de  Puymaigre,  who  was  present  at  the  review,  "  one 
would  have  believed  that  Bonaparte,  with  his  twelve 
hundred  men,  could  not  fail  to  be  crushed  at  once; 
but  some  of  the  soldiers  were  traitors  at  heart,  others 
were  bewildered,  and  most  were  awaiting  events. 

"  On  leaving  the  Tuileries,  where  all  were  waver- 
ing between  hope  and  fear,  I  went,  in  order  to  assure 


194  THE  DUCUESS  OF  ANGOUL^JME 

myself  of  the  real  disposition  of  the  army,  to  visit 
one  of  my  old  acquaintances,  Lieutenant-General 
Doraon,  of  the  hussars,  who  was  chief  equeriy  to  the 
King,  and  who  is  now  dead.  There  were  several 
colonels  at  his  house,  and  while  breakfasting  with 
them  I  saw  that,  mistaking  me  for  one  of  their  party 
on  account  of  my  age,  bearing,  and  the  simple  red 
ribbon  at  my  buttonhole,  they  cast  off  restraint  and 
showed  that  every  one  of  them  had  wished  for  Na- 
poleon's return." 

Having  explained  the  situation,  M.  de  Puymaigre 
goes  on  to  say:  "One  of  them   especially.  Colonel 

G ,  made  me  indignant  by  the  irony  with  which 

he  gave  an  account  of  a  visit  he  had  paid  to  the 
Duke  of  Berry,  and  in  which  he  had  sworn  that 
his  devotion  would  be  found  equal  to  every  proof. 
Upon  leaving,  I  said  to  General  Domon,  who  had  not 
displayed  similar  duplicity :  '  The  business  is  settled ; 
your  army  will  go  over  to  the  enemy.'  " 

At  the  same  time,  the  newspapers  went  into  fren- 
zies of  rage  in  their  diatribes  against  Napoleon. 
They  could  not  find  words  bad  enough  to  express 
their  feelings.  They  called  him  the  Brigand  of  Elba, 
the  Corsican  Ogre,  the  Modern  Teutat^s.  The  na- 
tional guard  of  the  Paris  garrison  held  a  review  on 
the  9th  of  March,  and  on  that  day  the  DShats  pub- 
lished an  article  in  which  the  following  words  were 
used:  "Here  we  have  the  poltroon  of  1814  entering 
on  the  absurdest  as  well  as  the  rashest  enterprise 
tiiat  was  ever  conceived  of.     He  lands,  and  the  gates 


THE  BETURN   OF  NAPOLEON  195 

of  the  cities  which  he  supposed  would  open  to  him 
remain  closed;  the  soldiers  who  were  to  call  him 
emperor  again,  respond  to  the  cries  of  rebels  only  by 
shouting,  '  Long  live  the  King ! '  The  peasants  rush 
to  arms  and  everywhere  assail  the  bandits  who  come 
to  ravage  their  peaceful  fields.  The  great  man,  who 
is  strong  only  when  borne  along  by  prosperous  winds, 
is  doubtless  troubled  and  repentant,  but  what  will  he 
do  ?  He  will  endeavor  to  do  what  he  did  in  Egypt, 
what  he  did  in  Russia,  what  he  did  in  Saxony :  he 
will  abandon  the  eight  hundred  unhappy  men  whom 
he  has  dragged  to  the  field  of  carnage  and  —  to  use 
an  expression  peculiar  to  his  bulletins  of  old  —  he 
will  save  himself  '  personally,'  without  regard  to  the 
fate  of  his  comrades  in  arms.  May  Providence, 
weary  of  his  crimes,  now  upset  his  rascally  calcula- 
tions ! " 

It  is  said  that  on  the  same  day,  the  9th  of  March 
namely,  no  one  learned  anything  by  the  Lyons 
telegraph,  because  a  thick  fog  prevented  what  it 
announced  from  being  read.  The  darkness  was  a 
presage  of  evil.  In  the  evening,  Madame  de  Stael 
went  to  the  Tuileries  to  pay  her  respects  to  Louis 
XVIII.  "  It  seemed  to  me,"  says  she,  "  that  an  ex- 
pression showing  that  he  was  ill  at  ease  shone 
through  his  appearance  of  courage.  While  leaving 
the  Tuileries,  I  saw  the  still  unobliterated  eagles  on 
the  walls  of  Napoleon's  apartments,  and  they  seemed 
to  me  to  have  become  threatening  again.  At  a 
reception  in  the  evening,  a  young  lady  who,  with 


196  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULkME 

many  others,  contributed  to  the  spirit  of  frivolity 
which  they  wished  to  oppose  to  that  of  faction, 
as  if  the  two  could  contend  with  each  other, 
approached  me  and  made  some  pleasantries  on  the 
anxiety  that  I  could  not  conceal.  '  What !  Madame,' 
said  she,  '  can  you  fear  that  the  French  will  not  fight 
for  their  lawful  King  against  a  usurper?'  How 
could  one  reply  to  so  well-turned  a  phrase  without 
committing  one's  self?  But,  after  twenty-five  years  of 
revolution,  had  one  a  right  to  flatter  one's  self  that  a 
respectable  but  abstract  idea  like  legitimacy  would 
have  more  influence  with  the  soldiers  than  all  the 
memories  of  their  long  wars  ?  "  Some  of  the  royal- 
ists were  infatuated  enough  to  rejoice  over  the  return 
from  Elba.  "That  event,"  adds  Madame  de  Stael, 
"must  have  seemed  to  them  the  most  fortunate  that 
could  have  occurred,  because  Bonaparte  would  be 
got  rid  of,  and  the  two  Chamber  would  see  the 
necessity  of  giving  the  King  absolute  power,  —  as  if 
that  would  be  tolerated  !  I  am  not  sure  that  some  of 
the  enemies  of  any  constitution  whatever  were  not 
glad  of  disturbances  which  might  bring  foreigners 
into  France  and  impel  them  to  impose  an  absolute 
government  on  the  country." 

On  the  10th  of  March,  the  royalists  continued  to 
cherish  their  illusions.  The  morning's  Moniteur  con- 
tained this  reassuring  paragraph :  "  A  telegraphic 
despatch  announces  the  arrival  of  Monsieur  at  Lyons 
at  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  in  perfect 
health.     His  Royal  Highness  found  the  troops  and 


THE  RETURN   OF  NAPOLEON  197 

inhabitants  united  in  a  common  feeling  of  devotion 
and  fidelity,  of  which  he  received  the  most  striking 
evidences."  On  the  very  day  when  the  news  of  this 
good  reception  was  circulating  in  the  capital  and 
reviving  the  hopes  of  royalists,  the  King's  brother 
and  the  Duke  of  Orleans  left  Lyons  and  returned 
post-haste  to  Paris,  being  intimidated  by  the  hostile 
attitude  of  the  troops. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  still  imagined  that  Marshal 
Ney  would  arrest  the  progress  of  Napoleon.  Louis 
XVIII.  issued  the  following  royal  proclamation : 
"  Given  at  the  chateau  of  the  Tuileries,  March  11, 
1815.  —  Measures  have  been  taken  to  stop  the  enemy 
between  Lyons  and  Paris.  We  have  ample  means  of 
accomplishing  this,  if  the  nation  will  oppose  to  him 
the  insuperable  obstacle  of  its  devotion  and  courage. 
France  will  not  be  defeated  in  this  struggle  between 
freedom  and  tyranny,  between  Louis  XVIII.  and 
Bonaparte."  Companies  of  royal  volunteers  were 
organized  at  Paris.  In  their  ranks  were  M.  Odilon 
Barrot,  many  students  at  the  Medical  School,  and  all 
of  those  at  the  Law  School.  Loyal  addresses  were 
sent  to  the  King  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom. 
Every  functionary,  military  or  civil,  rushed  headlong 
into  adulatory  declamation.  The  only  Bonapartist 
journal  of  the  day,  the  Nain  Jaune,  which  was  more 
and  more  closely  watched  by  the  censorship,  said 
that  Napoleon,  after  having  dragged  out  the  last 
fragments  of  a  dishonored  life  on  the  rocks  of  the 
island  of  Elba,  would  be  driven  from  France  with 


198  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

horror.  But  approaching  retractions  were  already 
showing  themselves  under  the  semblance  of  enthusi- 
asm and  devotion. 

Society  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  passed 
from  ridiculous  infatuation  to  morbid  alarm.  The 
news  of  the  occupation  of  Lyons  by  the  Emperor 
and  the  abrupt  return  of  Monsieur  and  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  to  Paris  put  a  stop  to  boastings.  A  night- 
mare seemed  to  oppress  all.  Every  week,  every  min- 
ute, had  its  new  impressions.  The  women  were  more 
over-excited  and  violent  than  the  men.  There  was 
general  confusion  and  disorder.  Marshal  Ney  was 
no  longer  expected  to  keep  his  alleged  promise  to 
the  King,  and  bring  the  usurper  back  in  an  iron 
cage.  On  the  14th  of  March,  the  Ahb6  Montesquiou, 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  affirmed  in  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  that,  being  satisfied  with  the  excellent  dis- 
position of  the  troops,  the  Marshal  had  advanced 
from  Franche-Comtd  on  the  road  to  Lyons,  there  to 
meet  the  enemy.  It  was  related  on  the  same  day 
that  several  foreign  ministers  had  said  to  the  King : 
"  Sire,  we  will  not  disguise  from  Your  Majesty  that 
we  have  informed  our  courts  of  what  is  going  on  in 
France,  and  that  if  this  state  of  things  continues, 
their  answer  will  be  the  entry  of  the  troops  of  our 
sovereigns  into  France."  The  Journal  des  DShats 
added  this  comment :  "  And,  Frenchmen !  behold  in 
this  the  benefits  bestowed  on  us  by  Bonaparte,  —  a 
foreign  war  that  may  bring  the  Cossacks  once  again 
to  the  gates  of  Paris."  Alas !  .this  prediction  was 
only  too  true  I 


THE  RETURN   OF  NAPOLEON  199 

On  the  next  day,  the  15th  of  March,  the  same 
journal  which  had  now  worked  itself  up  to  a 
paroxysm  of  fury,  said :  "  What  does  this  man 
demand  ?  A  throne,  the  throne  of  France.  What 
is  he?  We  do  not  speak  of  his  former  deeds  of 
madness, — he  is  a  foreigner!  And  should  not  that 
word  alone  suffice  to  rally  all  the  sons  of  France 
against  him?  We  all  rejoiced  at  the  return  of  the 
Bourbons,  and  under  them  we  recovered  what  we  had 
so  long  sought,  — work  and  freedom.  But  even  if 
the  Bourbons  had  betrayed  all  our  hopes,  even  if 
the  crown  were  at  disposal,  by  what  right  and  under 
what  pretext  could  it  be  snatched  by  this  foreigner? 
The  lowest  of  our  soldiers,  the  most  obscure  of  our 
peasants,  provided  he  were  a  Frenchman,  would 
have  a  better  right  to  it  than  this  son  of  a  bourgeois 
of  Ajaccio." 

And  the  sheet  that  was  once  called  the  Journal  de 
V Empire  added:  "  Hear  the  general  shouts  of  confi- 
dence and  joy  inspired  among  the  people  by  the 
wisdom  of  its  government  and  the  fidelity  of  its 
defenders,  '  He  shall  not  return ! '  It  is  the  burden 
of  all  we  say,  the  refrain  of  all  we  talk  about.  .  .  . 
And  why  should  he  return  to  Paris?  He  was 
driven  from  it  by  justice,  by  force  of  arms,  and, 
above  all,  by  Providence.  He  was  driven  from  it 
by  his  own  remembrances,  by  a  power  invisible  to 
all  but  him,  and  which  acted  on  him  alone.  Like 
the  Richard  III.  of  the  English  poet,  and  like  him 
tormented  on  the  eve  of  battle  by  the  shades  of  his 


200  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULkME 

victims,  he  sees  from  afar  his  progress  opposed  by 
the  ghosts  of  four  millions  of  men  immolated  to 
enhance  his  fatal  glory,  and  hears  them  cry  in  a 
dreadful  voice,  'Scourge  of  the  Generations,  thou 
shalt  reign  no  more ! ' "  And  yet  this  "  Scourge 
of  the  Generations "  had  already  begun  to  reign. 
Within  five  days  he  ascended  the  grand  staircase  of 
the  Tuileries,  and  on  the  next  day  the  DSbaU 
resumed  its  old  name  of  the  Journal  de  V Empire. 

Listen  to  an  eye-witness,  the  late  Duke  of  Broglie. 
In  his  carefully  compiled  Souvenirs  he  says :  "  Both 
government  and  society  were  a  sorry  sight.  False 
news  came  in  in  double  quantity,  but  nobody  put  the 
least  faith  in  it.  They  waxed  hot  with  declamations 
which  were  taken  at  their  true  value.  They  made 
preparations  for  resistance,  in  the  firm  resolve  not  to 
withstand  the  first  attack.  They  swore  hatred  to 
the  tyrant  while  they  were  underhandedly  making 
ready  to  be  well  received  by  him  when  the  right 
moment  came.  Forbin  trailed  his  big  sword  in  the 
parlors  of  Madame  R<?camier,  Benjamin  Constant 
brandished  the  article  which,  unluckily  for  him,  he 
had  inserted  in  the  Journal  des  DebaU,  and  as  they 
did  so  both  these  gentlemen  were  more  concerned 
about  the  impression  they  were  making  on  the  mis- 
tress of  the  house  than  on  anything  else  in  the 
world.  A  few  people  made  their  way  to  the  Tui- 
leries and,  while  shouting  'Long  live  the  King!'  were 
waiting  expectantly,  to  change  that  cry  to  '  Long  live 
the  Emperor!'     The  two  Chambers  felt  themselves 


THE  RETURN   OF  NAPOLEON  201 

quite  as  truly  dethroned  as  royalty  was.  Their  secret 
committees  were  unmasked  like  the  councils  of  the 
princes,  and  their  halls  became  caf^s  to  which  people 
came  to  hear  the  news."  The  moment  was  drawing 
nigh  when  Napoleon  should  say  to  M.  Mollien : 
"  They  have  let  me  come  as  they  let  the  others  go." 
The  Duke  of  Broglie  will  repeat  the  famous  words 
of  Cromwell,  when,  hearing  the  enthusiastic  shouts 
of  those  around  him,  the  Protector  said  to  Thurloe : 
"  These  people  would  shout  still  louder  and  more 
joyfully  if  they  saw  me  going  to  be  hanged." 


XIX 

THE  ROYAL  ASSEMBLAGE 

THE  death  agony  of  the  first  Restoration  had 
begun.  Louis  XVIII.  endeavored  at  least 
to  fall  nobly,  and  like  a  king  who  yet  hoped  to  come 
back  presently  to  his  own.  He  desired  to  give 
royalty  a  splendid  burial ;  there  was  real  majesty  in 
the  solemnities  of  the  16th  of  March  when  the 
Chambers  met  at  the  Palais  Bourbon,  and  the  speech 
from  the  throne  was  like  a  funeral  oration  of  the 
monarchy  pronounced  by  the  King  himself  in  the 
idea  that  the  monarchy  would  be  restored  to  life. 

At  three  o'clock  Louis  XVIII.  set  out  from  the 
Tuileries  with  a  large  number  of  attendants.  On 
the  way  from  the  chateau  to  the  Palais  Bourbon  the 
national  guard  was  enthusiastic.  The  regulars  kept 
silence.  But  the  King  paid  no  attention  to  this 
silence.  He  went  over  in  his  mind  the  discourse 
that  he  wished  to  recite  by  heart.  The  floor  and 
galleries  were  filled  with  a  throng  composed  entirely 
of  royalists.  The  Chamber  of  Peers  occupied  one 
half  of  the  semicircle  and  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
the  other  half.  The  staff  of  the  Ist  Military  Divis- 
ion and  that  of  the  national  guard  occupied  benches 
202 


THE  ROYAL    ASSEMBLAGE  203 

placed  beside  the  throne.  The  body-guards  were 
stationed  in  the  hall  along  with  the  national  guard 
and  troops  of  the  line. 

When  the  King  appeared,  he  was  greeted  with 
loud  and  unanimous  applause.  His  face  was  sorrow- 
ful but  calm.  He  wore  for  the  first  time  the  star  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor.  After  slowly  ascending  the 
steps  to  the  throne,  at  the  foot  of  which  stood  the 
princes,  the  marshals,  and  the  captains  of  the  body- 
guard, he  sat  down,  and  his  look,  as  he  bowed 
majestically  to  the  assembly,  showed  that  he  was 
about  to  speak.  Then,  amid  a  profound  and  even 
religious  silence,  he  began  his  pathetic  address  in  a 
deep  and  sonorous  voice:  "Gentlemen,"  said  he, 
"at  this  critical  moment  when  the  public  enemy, 
occupies  part  of  my  kingdom  and  menaces  the  liberty 
of  all  the  rest,  I  come  to  you  in  the  desire  of  strength- 
ening the  ties  which,  by  binding  you  and  me,  fortify 
the  State.  In  addressing  you,  I  desire  to  show  all 
France  what  are  my  sentiments  and  my  desires.  I 
have  returned  to  my  country;  I  have  reconciled  it 
with  foreign  powers  which  will  undoubtedly  remain 
faithful  to  the  treaties  which  have  restored  us  to 
peace ;  I  have  labored  for  the  welfare  of  my  people ; 
I  have  received,  I  every  day  receive,  most  affecting 
evidences  of  their  love :  how  could  I,  at  the  age  of 
sixty  years,  better  end  my  existence  than  by  dying 
in  their  defence  ?  " 

The  King   uttered  this   phrase  simply  and  with 
emotion.     It  produced  an  immense  effect.     Every- 


204  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL&ME 

body  was  moved.  The  royal  orator  then  continued : 
"I  fear  nothing  for  myself,  but  I  fear  for  France. 
He  who  comes  to  light  the  torch  of  civil  war  among 
us  brings  also  the  plague  of  foreign  war;  he  would 
place  our  country  once  more  under  his  iron  yoke  and 
will  finally  destroy  that  Constitutional  Charter  that 
I  have  given  you,  —  my  fairest  title  to  future  fame, 
—  the  Charter  which  all  Frenchmen  hold  dear  and 
which  I  have  sworn  to  maintain."  Here  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  liberal  royalists  knew  no  bounds. 
Nothing  was  more  imposing  in  their  eyes  than  the 
solemn  oath  the  King  had  taken  to  abide  by  the 
Charter.  "  Let  us  rally  around  it !  "  said  he  in  con- 
clusion. "Let  it  be  our  blest  standard!  The 
descendants  of  Henri  IV.  will  be  the  first  to  stand  to 
it,  and  all  good  Frenchmen  will  come  to  their  side. 
In  conclusion,  gentlemen,  may  the  meeting  of  the 
two  Chambers  give  to  authority  the  power  it  requires, 
and  may  this  truly  national  war  prove  by  its  happy 
issue  what  can  be  done  by  a  great  people  united 
through  love  of  its  King  and  the  fundamental  law  of 
the  State." 

At  the  very  moment  when  Louis  XVIII.  uttered 
the  concluding  sentence  of  his  address,  a  darkness 
fell  upon  the  hall.  All  present  looked  up  to  dis- 
cover the  cause  of  this  sudden  night.  The  sky  was 
growing  black  as  if  in  sympathy  with  the  gloom  of 
the  situation  and  in  mourning  for  royalty.  One 
might  have  imagined  himself  in  a  vast  and  sombre 
church,  and  darkness  lent  yet  more  solemnity  to  the 


THE  ROYAL  ASSEMBLAGE  205 

ceremoii}'^.  When  the  King  ceased,  the  whole  assem- 
bly, as  if  electrified,  sprang  to  their  feet  and, 
extending  their  hands  towards  the  throne,  cried  out: 
"Long  live  the  King!  Let  us  die  for  the  King! 
Living  or  dying,  we  are  the  King's !  " 

Monsieur  then  approached  his  brother,  and  all 
became  respectfully  silent  as  he  signified  that  he 
was  about  to  speak.  "Sire,"  said  the  Prince,  "I 
know  that  I  am  now  violating  common  rules  by 
addressing  Your  Majesty,  but  I  implore  you  to 
excuse  me  for  expressing  at  this  juncture,  on  behalf 
of  myself  and  my  family,  how  thoroughly  and  from 
the  bottom  of  our  hearts  we  share  the  feelings  and 
principles  that  animate  Your  Majesty."  Then, 
raising  his  hand,  he  added:  "We  swear  by  our 
honor  to  live  and  die  true  to  the  King  and  to  the 
Constitutional  Charter,  which  secures  the  happiness 
of  the  French!"  Then  Louis  XVIII.  extended  his 
hand  to  Monsieur,  who  seized  and  kissed  it  in  a 
transport  of  enthusiasm.  The  emotion  of  the  audi- 
ence, which  had  constantly  increased,  reached  its 
height  when  the  sovereign,  yielding  to  the  general 
impulse,  pressed  Monsieur  to  his  heart  with  all  the 
dignity  of  a  king  and  all  the  tenderness  of  a 
brother.  The  Moniteur  says:  "In  a  single  day  the 
destiny  of  France  would  be  secured  and  the  King, 
the  country,  our  most  inviolable  laws,  and  our 
dearest  rights  would  be  guaranteed  forever,  if  all 
France  could  have  witnessed  that  scene.  But  in 
effect  it  was  present  in  its  representatives,  in  its 


206  TH^  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULJ&ME 

most  illustrious  military  leaders,  and  a  host  of  citi- 
zens impartially  admitted  to  the  body  of  the  house, 
in  the  soldiers  and  civilians  who  were  crowded  in 
the  hall  and  outside  the  walls,  and  who  tumultuously 
re-echoed  the  shouts,  the  voavs,  and  the  applause  of 
the  Assembly." 

This  solemnity  roused  the  imaginations  of  the 
royalists  and  deeply  stirred  their  hearts.  At  the 
close  of  the  day  long  files  of  men  of  all  classes,  and 
carrying  white  flags,  went  through  the  streets  laud- 
ing Louis  XVIII.  and  heaping  maledictions  on 
Napoleon.  "Long  live  the  King!"  they  cried, 
"Down  with  the  tyrant!  " 

On  the  same  day  the  following  appeared  in  the 
DSbats :  "  I  swear  by  France  prosperous  and  happy 
that  the  fugitive  from  the  island  of  Elba  shall  never 
again  see  the  walls  of  Paris.  We  brave  soldiei-s 
whom  he  has  insulted  by  counting  on  our  aid,  we 
soldiers  together  with  our  fellow-citizens,  will  save 
France,  liberty,  and  the  King.  Till  Lyons,  all  was 
unforeseen;  after  Lyons,  all  shall  be  one  intrepid 
defence.  What  shall  we  see  when  we  meet  the 
enemy  ?  On  the  one  side  will  be  found  the  sons  of 
France  and  the  blood  royal,  all  those  faithful  and 
illustrious  generals  at  the  head  of  their  brave  sol- 
diers, fighting  for  country,  freedom,  and  king;  on 
the  other,  a  fallen  emperor  invoking  oatlis  which  he 
himself  has  broken,  and  a  few  disheartened  bands 
that  hardly  deserve  to  be  compared  with  those  com- 
panies which  appeared  in  the  fourteenth  century  and 


THE  ROYAL  ASSEMBLAGE  207 

were  known   as    '  sons   of    Belial, '  —  soldiers   from 
many  lands,  without  title  and  without  name." 

The  bands  which  excited  the  ironical  disdain 
of  the  royalistic  journals  approached.  They  ap- 
proached, and  the  terror  they  inspired  was  such 
that  the  throne  crumbled  before  even  their  trumpet 
blasts  could  be  heard.  A  few  hours  after  the  royal 
stance  it  became  known  that  Marshal  Ney  had  gone 
over  to  the  enemy  on  the  4th  of  March  at  Lons-le- 
Saulnier.  Thus  vanished  royalty's  last  hope.  It 
might  be  said  that  it  already  heard  Napoleon's  foot- 
steps from  afar. 


XX 

THE  king's    departure 

THE  situation  became  more  desperate  every  hour. 
One  man  tried  to  deceive  another  or  endeav- 
ored to  deceive  himself,  and  people  longed  for  the 
ability  to  shut  their  eyes  to  evidence.  It  was  known 
what  would  be  the  outcome  of  all  the  mouthings  of 
a  few  days  before  —  of  all  those  pompous  and  sound- 
ing phrases  about  the  fidelity  of  the  army  and  the 
stability  of  the  throne.  The  time  for  heroic  reme- 
dies had  come. 

Marshal  Marmont,  Duke  of  Ragusa,  said  to  the 
King:  "I  am  a  man  of  business  and,  if  full  power 
is  given  to  me,  I  will  pledge  myself  and  with  noth- 
ing more  than  the  resources  now  in  Paris,  to  put 
the  Tuileries  and  the  Louvre  into  such  a  state  of 
defence  that  it  will  require  a  breaching  battery  to 
enter  it;  and  this  I  will  do  within  five  days.  Pro- 
visions for  three  thousand  men  for  two  montlis  must 
be  placed  in  the  ch^tteau.  The  household  of  the 
King  will  be  excellent  for  this  purpose,  without 
drawing  on  the  provinces  for  their  services.  It  is 
composed  of  men  of  courage,  each  of  whom  will  be 
solicitors  of  the  honor  of  taking  part  in  the  defence. 
208 


THE  KING'S  DEPARTURE  209 

■  The  King  must  shut  himself  up  in  a  fortress  of  that 
sort,  together  with  all  that  constitutes  the  imposing- 
ness  of  government,  —  ministers,  both  Chambers, 
and  all  except  his  family.  A  resolution  so  magnani- 
mous will  react  most  powerfully  on  the  troops.  Do 
you  know  the  state  of  opinion  in  three-quarters  of 
France?  Except  in  the  eastern  departments  and  a 
few  scattered  malecontents,  it  is  everywhere  in  our 
favor.  In  the  west,  in  Normandy,  Picardy,  and 
Flanders,  the  masses  are  wholly  devoted  to  you. 
The  national  guards  are  for  you.  Give  them  time 
to  get  in  motion;  they  will  not  be  needed  in  your 
behalf  for  three  months  yet.  .  .  .  Sire,  I  claim  the 
honor  of  being  shut  in  with  Your  Majesty,  as  com- 
mander or  common  soldier,  I  care  not  in  what 
capacity." 

M.  de  Chateaubriand  was  of  Marshal  Marmont's 
opinion:  "I  said,"  is  his  story,  "let  us  barri- 
cade ourselves  in  Paris.  National  guards  from  the 
department  are  already  coming  to  our  aid.  While 
this  is  going  on,  our  aged  monarch,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  Louis  XVI. 's  will  and  with  the  Charter 
in  his  hand,  will  remain  peacefully  seated  on  the 
throne  at  the  Tuileries;  the  diplomatic  corps  will 
be  around  him,  both  Chambers  will  meet  in  the 
pavilions  of  the  chateau,  and  the  King's  household 
will  camp  on  the  Carrousel  and  in  the  gardens  of 
the  Tuileries.  We  will  line  the  quays  and  the  ter- 
race overlooking  the  water  with  cannon.  Let  Bona- 
parte  attack   us    in  such  a  position;  let  him  carry 


210  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

our  barricades  one  after  another;  let  him  bombard 
Paris  if  he  chooses  and  if  he  has  any  mortars;  let 
him  make  himself  detested  by  the  whole  population, 
and  we  shall  soon  see  what  will  be  the  result  of  his 
undertaking.  If  we  hold  out  for  only  three  days, 
the  victory  is  ours.  The  King  defending  himself 
in  his  castle  will  cause  universal  enthusiasm.  In  a 
word,  if  he  is  to  die,  let  him  die  worthy  of  his 
blood,  and  let  Napoleon's  last  exploit  be  the 
butchery  of  an  aged  man.  By  sacrificing  his  life, 
Louis  XVIII.  will  win  the  only  battle  he  will  have 
fought,  and  he  will  win  it  to  the  gain  of  the  freedom 
of  the  human  race." 

For  one  moment  the  monarch  was  wise  enough  to 
take  or  seem  to  take  the  advice  of  persons  who  begged 
him  not  to  run  away.  He  said  in  the  council  of  his 
ministers  on  the  18th  of  March:  "I  shall  remain  at 
the  Tuileries;  I  will  face  the  pretender  who  would 
seat  himself  on  my  throne.  ...  I  will  always  count 
on  my  people  after  the  reception  they  gave  me." 
But  reflection  soon  threw  cold  water  on  this  fine  fire. 
It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  heroic  counsel  of 
those  who  favored  resistance  was  not  very  practi- 
cal, and  it  is  more  than  likely  that  if  Louis  XVIII. 
had  followed  it  he  would  shortly  have  become  Napo- 
leon's prisoner.  That  exceptionally  bold  man,  the 
almost  foolhardy  Baron  de  Vitrolles  himself,  told 
his  ministerial  colleagues :  "  Bonaparte  will  capture 
the  rest  of  Paris  and  then  capture  the  King  shut  up 
in  the  Tuileries;  once  master  of  the  whole  capital 


THE  KING'S  DEPARTURE  211 

and  the  whole  of  France,  he  will  wait  for  the  King 
to  surrender  at  discretion  when  the  chateau's  pro- 
visions give  out."  The  notion  of  falling  alive  into 
the  hands  of  the  murderer  of  the  Duke  of  Enghien 
was  not  very  pleasing  to  the  sagacious  monarch, 
who  had  no  wish  to  enter  upon  the  captivity  to 
which  his  unfortunate  brother  Louis  XVI.  had  been 
subjected.  Besides  this,  the  scheme  of  the  man 
who  caused  the  defection  at  Essonnes  probably  made 
him  cautious.  Fifteen  years  later  it  would  hardly  do 
to  employ  the  marshal  in  the  defence  of  the  Louvre 
and  the  Tuileries. 

Louis  XVIII.  refused  to  adopt  the  project  of 
turning  the  chateau  into  a  fortress.  To  judge  from 
the  MSmoires  d'Outre-Tombe,  Chateaubriand  was  in- 
consolable at  this  refusal.  "  What  could  have  been 
finer,"  says  he,  "than  for  an  aged  son  of  Saint  Louis 
to  overthrow,  in  a  few  moments,  a  man  whom  it  had 
taken  the  combined  kings  of  Europe  so  many  years 
to  put  down?  If  my  plan  had  been  adopted,  for- 
eigners would  not  have  ravaged  France  over  again ; 
our  princes  would  not  have  returned  through  the  aid 
of  armed  foreigners;  legitimacy  would  have  been 
saved  by  itself.  After  success  there  would  have 
been  only  one  thing  to  fear,  — an  overweening  confi- 
dence in  its  own  power  on  the  part  of  royalty, 
and  consequent  attempts  against  the  rights  of  the 
nation." 

And  this  really  singular  royalist,  who  was  always 
contented    with    himself    and    discontented    with 


212  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

others,  and  who,  in  his  Memoirs  always  seems 
to  be  vindicating  his  opinions  to  posterity,  adds 
bitterly :  "  Why  was  I  born  at  an  epoch  so  unfit  for 
me  ?  Why  was  I  a  royalist  against  my  own  instinct 
at  a  time  when  a  wretched  set  at  court  could  neither 
hear  nor  understand  me  ?  Why  was  I  thrown  into 
that  herd  of  commonplace  men  who  took  me  for  a 
rattlepate  when  I  spoke  courage,  and  for  a  revolu- 
tionist when  I  preached  freedom?"  Then  he  goes 
on  to  describe  the  confusion  at  the  Tuileries,  the 
two  processions  that  went  up  and  down  the  stairs  of 
the  Pavilion  of  Flora,  asking  each  other  what  was 
to  be  done;  the  frightened  people  who  questioned 
the  captain  of  the  guards,  the  chaplains,  the  pre- 
centors, the  almoners;  he  draws  pictures  of  the 
tumults,  the  fruitless  consultations,  the  vain  search 
for  news ;  of  young  men  who  wept  with  rage  when 
their  demands  for  orders  and  arms  proved  unavail- 
ing; and  women  who  swooned  with  rage  and  scorn. 
Nevertheless,  writers  in  the  royalist  journals 
assumed  the  tone  heroic.  Leonidas  at  Thermopylae 
was  not  more  dignified.  The  DShats  said  on  the 
18th  of  March:  "Bonaparte  needs  mercy  from  all 
his  contemporaries;  he  needs  mercy  from  the  future; 
but  no  man  worthy  of  the  name  of  man  needs  the 
mercy  of  Bonaparte.  As  for  ourselves,  we  have 
sworn  not  to  receive  at  his  hands  the  humiliating 
boon  of  life,  and  will  show  that  a  patriotic  press 
has,  too,  its  courage,  its  devotion,  and  its  love  of 
glory.     Fame  has  palms  for  Lucan  as  well  as  for 


THE  KING'S  DEPARTURE  213 

Thraseas.  All  services  are  honorable,  all  deaths  are 
illustrious,  when  one  labors  for  freedom  and  countiy ! 
King,  country,  and  freedom  I  These  are  the  price 
of  death,  —  death  in  the  curule  chair  of  the  Senate, 
on  the  field  of  battle,  or  on  the  martyr's  scaffold  — 
everj^where  death  is  beautiful  and  to  be  desired. 
There  is  no  agony,  no  torment,  that  cannot  be  repaid 
by  sentiments  so  noble  and  so  tender.  But  what 
compassion  shall  ever  compensate  for  the  infamy  of 
living  under  a  tyrant?  Long  live  the  King!  Long 
live  the  country!     Long  live  Freedom!  " 

And  this  was  not  the  last  oration  made  in  the 
manner  of  the  ancients.  It  was  said  in  the  Behats 
of  the  following  day,  March  19th,  when  the  King 
took  flight:  "Under  Bonaparte  we  would  have  a 
governent  of  Mamelukes.  .  .  .  He  is  an  Attila, 
a  Gengis  Khan,  but  more  terrible  and  hateful 
than  they  because  the  resources  of  civilization  are 
at  his  command,  and  it  is  apparent  that  he  uses 
them  to  organize  massacre  and  administer  pillage; 
he  does  not  disguise  his  intentions;  he  despises  us 
too  much  to  condescend  to  deceive  us.  And,  in- 
deed, what  people  would  better  deserve  contempt, 
if  we  should  reach  out  our  arms  to  receive  his 
shackles  ?  And,  as  the  heart  of  the  profound  objec- 
tion to  such  a  course,  what  should  we  dare  to  say  to 
the  King  whom  we  could  not  recall,  since  the  Powers 
would  respect  the  independence  of  the  national  pref- 
erences, —  what,  I  repeat,  should  we  dare  to  say  to 
that   King  whom  we   voluntarily  brought  back  to 


214  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

the  land  where  his  family  had  suffered  so  much 
already  ?  We  should  say  to  him :  You  trusted  the 
French;  we  surrounded  you  with  homage,  and, 
believing  our  oaths,  you  left  your  asylum  and  came 
among  us  alone  and  unarmed.  So  long  as  there  was 
no  danger,  so  long  as  you  had  the  favors  of  power 
to  dispose  of,  a  great  people  deafened  you  with  their 
noisy  applause.  You  did  not  abuse  its  enthusiasm. 
One  year  of  jout  reign  did  not  cause  as  many  tears 
to  flow  as  one  single  day  of  Bonaparte's  rule.  But 
he  appeared  on  our  frontiers,  —  he,  the  man  stained 
with  our  blood  and  but  recently  driven  out  with  the 
curses  of  us  all.  He  came,  he  menaced,  and  neither 
oaths  nor  manhood  restrained  us,  nor  did  your  trust 
in  us  keep  us  to  our  duty,  nor  did  we  respect  old 
age.  You  thought  you  had  found  a  nation,  but  you 
found  only  a  horde  of  perjured  slaves. 
■  "No,  such  shall  not  be  our  language.  Such,  at 
least,  shall  not  be  mine.  I  say  to-day,  without 
fear  of  misconception,  that  I  have  sought  for  lib- 
erty under  many  shapes.  I  have  seen  that  it  was 
possible  under  monarchy;  I  have  seen  the  King 
fraternize  with  the  nation,  and  I  will  not,  like  a 
contemptible  time-server,  go  from  one  side  to  the 
other,  cover  infamy  with  sophistry,  and  cringe  with 
debasing  words  in  order  to  purchase  a  shameful 
existence." 

Contrary  to  the  custom  of  the  journal,  this  was  a 
signed  article.  It  bore  the  signature  of  Benjamin 
de    Constant.      Why    did    that    eminent    political 


THE  KING'S  DEPARTURE  215 

writer,  contrary  to  his  custom,  now  put  his  name 
at  the  end  of  his  article?  Because  he  wished  to 
protect  himself  against  himself,  to  forearm  himself 
against  future  changes  by  making  these  solemn  dec- 
larations? Ah,  well!  that  precaution  was  not  of 
much  avail.  Two  days  afterwards,  the  DShats 
appeared  under  its  former  title  of  the  Journal  de 
rUmpire,  and,  within  a  short  time,  M.  Benjamin 
de  Constant,  who,  on  the  19th  of  March,  had  played 
the  part  of  Cicero  against  Catiline,  was  made  coun- 
cillor of  state  by  Napoleon. 

The  last  hour  of  the  first  Restoration  had  struck. 
Louis  XVIII.  decided  to  set  out  in  the  evening,  but 
on  the  19th  of  March  he  wished  to  play  the  King 
once  more.  He  went  at  noon  to  review  his  military 
household  in  the  Champ-de-Mars.  "  It  was  then  only 
by  miracle  that  royalty  could  be  saved,"  says  the 
Count  de  Puymaigre,  an  eye-witness,  "and  yet  on 
seeing  that  huge  national  guard,  the  newly  created 
household  troops  of  the  King  and  the  rich  uniforms 
that  glittered  in  the  courtyard  of  the  Tuileries, 
who  would  not  have  believed  that  the  throne  was 
established  on  unshakable  foundations  ?  I  put  myself 
under  the  protection  of  a  subaltern  attached  to  the 
service  of  the  chateau,  and  we  went  as  far  as  the 
Horloge  Pavilion  at  the  foot  of  the  grand  stairway, 
and  there,  at  a  time  mournful  and  sombre  as  the 
future  of  France,  I  saw  Louis  XVIII.  painfully  get 
into  his  carriage  to  proceed  to  the  accomplishment 
of  a  last   duty  of  royalty.     This   then,    said  I  to 


216  TUE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

myself,  is  one  of  the  last  days  of  monarchy,  which 
dies  amid  all  the  semblances  of  formidable  strength 
and  all  the  deceitful  appearances  of  power." 

The  review  was  very  fine.  The  King's  military 
household  greeted  him  with  great  warmth.  The 
sovereign's  intention  to  leave  the  country  was  not 
yet  known.  The  morning's  Moniteur  had  character- 
ized the  rumor  on  that  subject  as  an  absurd  lie 
which  only  evil-disposed  men  believed.  But  the 
King  knew  perfectly  well  that  he  was  to  leave  in 
the  evening.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  he 
had  summoned  Marshal  Marmont,  who  had  general 
control  of  the  military  household,  and  had  given  him 
a  slip  of  paper  designating  the  time  of  departure  to 
a  minute,  and  saying  that  the  King  would  go  to 
Saint-Denis  where  he  would  remain  to  give  further 
orders. 

When  the  review  was  over,  the  King  went  back 
to  the  Tuileries  in  all  the  calmness  of  despair. 
These  words  are  used  by  Baron  de  Vitrolles,  who 
continues :  "  The  rest  of  the  day  was  passed  in  con- 
ferences, personal  arrangements,  and  discussing  the 
intelligence  that  we  constantly  received  of  the 
Emperor's  approach,  and  which  did  not  come  fast 
enough  for  us  if  we  got  it  every  fifteen  minutes. 
One  would  have  had  to  be  present  during  those  last 
moments  in  order  to  understand  the  singularity  of 
that  situation  in  which,  though  still  alive,  one  knows 
that  one  will  be  dead  to-morrow.  While  passing 
a  room  on  the  ground-floor  of  the  Tuileries,  I  was 


THE  KING'S  DEPASTURE  217 

struck  at  seeing  a  magnificent  dinner  prepared  in 
honor  of  the  Spanish  Ambassador.  It  was  what  is 
called  in  the  language  of  etiquette  an  'entertain- 
ment,' that  is  to  say,  a  repast  of  twenty-five  or 
thirty  covers,  and  given  in  the  King's  name  by  his 
maitre  d'hotel.  The  dinner  was  ended  four  or  five 
hours  before  the  King's  departure!  We  were,  for- 
sooth, the  masters  as  yet,  and  everybody  obeyed  us 
as  if  we  were  still  in  full  sway.  People  even  came 
to  ask  for  decorations." 

At  half-after  eleven  in  the  evening,  M.  de 
Vitrolles  went  to  Louis  XVIII.,  whom  he  found 
calm  and  acting  as  usual.  The  King  said  to  him : 
"  Go  to  Bordeaux  and  Toulouse,  and  do  there  what- 
ever you  think  necessary  on  my  account.  Send  this 
letter  to  my  niece,  whom  you  will  direct  to  stay  at 
Bordeaux  as  long  as  she  can,  and  then  counsel  to 
do  as  I  am  doing."  Taking  the  letter  from  the 
King's  hand,  M.  de  Vitrolles  then  said:  "Sire,  I 
greatly  regret  that  I  could  not  have  foreseen  Your 
Majesty's  orders :  I  wish  I  could  have  been  with  the 
ministers  while  receiving  your  instructions.  They 
would  have  enlightened  me  about  them."  — '''' Mitte 
sapientem  et  nihil  dicas^"  replied  the  King.  The 
Baron  made  a  profound  bow  on  receiving  this  Latin 
compliment,  and  assured  His  Majesty  that  he  was 
happy  to  have  another  opportunity  to  prove  his 
unbounded  devotion.  He  merely  observed  that  the 
important  trust  confided  to  him  required  powers 
from  the  King.     "Powers?"  replied  Louis  XVIII. 


218  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

"You  do  not  need  any;  you  are  my  minister  and 
have  full  powers.  Besides,  the  presence  of  my 
nephew  and  niece  will  give  you  all  the  authority 
you  require."  After  these  words  he  extended  his 
hand  to  the  Baron,  who  kissed  it  and  withdrew, 
more  moved  certainly  than  the  King  was  himself. 

Let  us  hear  M.  de  Vitrolles  further:  "I  cast  a 
last  look  at  the  Tuileries,  but  now  so  brilliant  with 
lights,  so  joyous,  so  full  of  men  and  motion,  —  at 
that  palace  which  but  a  short  time  ago  was  sur- 
rounded with  all  that  seems  great  and  powerful,  but 
now  dark,  lonely,  abandoned  by  its  mastei-s,  and 
ready  to  be  given  over  to  a  Corsican  who  had  no 
other  right  to  it  than  his  audacity  and  the  servility 
of  a  horde  of  fanatics.  And  it  was  before  such  a 
man  that  the  royal  family  and  a  whole  monarchy  was 
taking  flight,  driven  for  a  second  time  along  the 
highroad  to  exile ! 

"I  went  home  full  of  sorrowful  thoughts.  There 
I  found  a  few  friends,  among  whom  was  the  Moni- 
teur  OjJicieU  in  the  person  of  Sauvo,  who  had  come 
to  submit  the  articles  to  me,  as  if  for  us  there  would 
be  a  morrow  to  that  fatal  day.  I  smiled  at  the 
thought  that  we  would  still  throw  this  last  word  to 
the  public  after  having  gone  away." 

That  last  word  was  the  proclamation  which 
appeared  in  the  Moniteur  on  the  following  morning, 
—  the  20th  of  March,  and  in  which  the  fugitive 
monarch  said:  "Divine  Providence,  which  called  us 
to  the  throne  of  our  fathers,  now  permits  that  throne 


THE  KING'S  DEPARTUBE  219 

to  fall  througli  the  treason  of  an  armed  force  that 
had  sworn  to  defend  it.  We  might  take  advantage  of 
the  faithful  and  patriotic  sentiments  of  the  immense 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  Paris,  and  dispute  the 
entrance  of  the  rebels  into  the  capital,  but  we 
shudder  at  the  thought  of  all  the  evils  of  every  sort 
that  would  be  brought  upon  the  inhabitants  by  a 
battle  under  their  walls.  We  retire  with  a  few 
brave  men  whom  intrigue  and  perfidy  have  not  suc- 
ceeded in  seducing  from  their  duty,  and,  since  we 
are  unable  to  defend  our  capital,  we  will  go  away  to 
collect  forces  and  seek  in  another  part  of  the  king- 
dom, not  subjects  more  loving  and  faithful  than  our 
good  Parisians,  but  Frenchmen  in  a  better  position 
to  declare  for  the  good  cause." 

It  would  soon  be  midnight.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  hour  fixed  for  the  King's  departure  would  strike. 
Travelling-carriages  stood  before  the  Pavilion  of 
Flora.  A  few  persons  at  the  chateau  were  informed 
of  the  sovereign's  determination.  In  an  instant 
everybody  knows  it,  and  there  is  general  consterna- 
tion. Body-guards,  employees  of  the  palace,  and 
national  guards  on  duty  hasten  from  all  parts  to 
await  Louis  XVIII.  in  the  vestibule.  Under  the 
light  of  torches  which  an  hussar  carries  before  him, 
the  King,  supported  by  M.  de  Blacas  and  the  Duke 
of  Duras,  slowly  descends  the  staircase  of  the  Pavil- 
ion of  Flora.  Men  kneel  before  him,  kiss  his  hands, 
beg  him  to  remain  and  swear  to  defend  him. 
Unusually   moved,   the  royal   fugitive  says   to   the 


220  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL&ME 

weeping  crowd:  "My  children,  your  attachment 
touches  my  heart;  I  do  not  say  adieu,  but  au  revoir."" 
The  weather  is  dreadful;  rain  falls  in  torrents.  It 
is  a  night  filled  with  anguish  and  mourning.  The 
King  slowly  enters  the  carriage,  and  the  wind  blow- 
ing in  violent  gusts  extinguishes  the  torches  that 
cast  a  dismal  glare  over  the  scene,  the  prelude  of 
exile. 

The  late  Duke  of  Broglie,  who  was  as  ill-disposed 
towards  the  elder  branch  of  the  Bourbons  as  towards 
the  Emperor,  exclaims  in  his  Souvenirs:  "On  see- 
ing that  little  man,  made  so  great  by  a  hundred 
victories,  at  the  head  of  a  handful  of  old  mustaches, 
tumble  down  a  card  castle  with  one  fillip  of  his 
fingers,  and  kick  over  the  whole  scenery  of  the  play, 
I  could  not  help  recalling  an  incident  in  the  romance 
of  Cervantes,  where  the  hero  of  La  Mancha  goes  into 
a  booth  of  marionettes,  and,  seeing  a  puppet  dressed 
like  a  captive  princess  and  in  thrall  to  a  huge 
painted  giant,  draws  his  big  swjord,  and  cuts  down 
dungeon  and  prisoners,  mountebank  and  stall." 

The  Duke  describes  also  the  20th  day  of  March : 
"  The  day  following  the  departure  of  him  who  had 
been  permitted  to  depart  was  still  more  mournful 
than  that  which  preceded  it.  Paris  was  sad;  the 
public  squares  were  deserted,  and  the  cafds,  where 
men  used  to  meet,  were  for  the  most  part  closed; 
passers-by  avoided  them,  and  in  the  streets  hardly 
anybody  was  met  but  belated  military  men,  officers 
in  meiTy  mood,   and  drunken  soldiers  singing  the 


THE  KING'S  DEPARTURE  221 

Marseillaise  Hymn  —  the  everlasting  refrain  of  roist- 
erers, offering  tricolor  cockades  to  everybody  in  jest 
and  almost  at  the  sabre's  point."  Then  he  shows 
us,  like  the  little  piece  before  the  main  play,  how  at 
nightfall  Saint-Didier,  formerly  prefect  of  the  palace, 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  imperial  domestics, 
stewards,  cooks,  and  scullions,  each  having  doffed 
his  livery,  triumphantly  took  possession  of  the  dis- 
ordered apartments,  beds  still  unmade  and  chafing- 
dishes  still  steaming,  and  made  a  clean  sweep  of  all 
that  was  left  of  the  royal  housekeeping. 

"The  master  came,"  continues  the  Duke  de 
Broglie,  "in  the  words  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  were  never  more  appropriate,  'like  a  thief  in 
the  night. '  He  ascended  the  great  staircase  of  the 
Tuileries,  supported  by  his  generals,  and  all  the  fol- 
lowers of  his  fortunes,  past  and  present,  whose  faces, 
nevertheless,  were  fully  as  anxious  as  they  were 
expectant."  There  is  to  be  a  complete  change  of 
scenery.  The  BSbats,  once  more  the  Journal  de 
r Umpire,  is  about  to  say :  "  Paris,  March  20.  —  The 
Bourbon  family  left  Paris  last  night.  It  is  not  yet 
known  what  road  they  took.  To-day  Paris  puts  on 
a  look  of  security  and  joy.  The  boulevards  are 
filled  with  an  immense  crowd,  impatient  to  see  the 
army  and  its  heroic  leader  who  has  already  returned. 
The  small  number  of  troops  who  were  foolishly 
expected  to  oppose  him  have  rallied  to  the  eagles, 
and  the  whole  French  militia,  become  national 
again,   is  marching  under  the  banners  of  glory  and 


222  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

the  fatherland.  The  Emperor  has  sped  like  light- 
ning across  two  hundred  leagues,  in  the  midst  of 
a  people  transported  with  admiration  and  respect, 
filled  with  present  happiness  and  the  assurance 
of  happiness  for  the  future."  What!  Is  this  the 
language  of  the  Debats!  The  journal  is  still  pub- 
lished at  the  old  stand.  No.  17  Pretres-Saint- 
Germain  I'Auxerrois.  'Tis  the  same  printing-house, 
—  that  of  Le  Normant ;  the  sheet  is  as  large  as  ever 
and  its  look  is  the  same;  nothing  about  it  has 
changed  except  its  opinions. 

And  now  hear  what  the  Debate,  which  is  Bona- 
partist  again,  says  in  its  issue  of  March  22d: 
"  Paris,  March  21.  —  Yesterday  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  entered  Paris  at  the  head  of  the  same 
troops  that  went  out  in  the  morning  to  oppose  his 
march.  The  army  which  has  sprung  into  existence 
since  he  landed,  was  unable  to  come  further  than 
Fontainebleau.  During  his  journey  His  Majesty  re- 
viewed several  bodies  of  troops.  Wherever  he  went 
he  was  preceded  and  surrounded  by  an  immense 
number  of  people.  TWs  morning  and  all  through 
the  day  a  vast  concourse  covered  the  terrace  of  the 
chateau  of  the  Tuileries,  making  the  air  resound 
with  the  liveliest  acclaims  of  love  and  joy.  His 
Majesty  appeared  several  times  at  the  windows  of 
his  apartments,  and  was  welcomed  with  endlessly 
repeated  shouts  of  'Long  live  the  Emperor! '  "  And 
when  Napoleon  shall  go  to  the  theatre  and  be 
received  with  the  boisterous  applause  by  the  same 


THE  KING'S  DEPARTURE  223 

claqueurs  who  once  welcomed  Louis  XVIII.,  the 
journal  will  exclaim:  "Last  evening  the  Emperor 
was  present  at  a  representation  of  Hector.  The 
audience  was  very  large.  His  Majesty  was  greeted 
with  hearty  applause,  which  was  repeated  all  through 
the  play  with  inexpressible  enthusiasm.  Among 
the  lines  that  brought  forth  universal  plaudits  were 
the  following: 

"  *  Like  some  Colossus  vast,  a  warrior  comes 

To  the  unshaken  army.    'Tis  he  !     Achilles  'twas. 
He  came  at  last.' 

At  these  words,  cries  of  'Long  live  the  Emperor  I  * 
filled  the  air.  The  stalls  and  the  parterre  mingled 
their  shouts,  which  were  renewed  every  moment, 
since  every  scene  of  the  drama  afforded  striking 
allusions  to  the  memorable  events  which  we  have 
just  witnessed." 

How  strange  the  epoch!  How  melancholy  the 
shifting  of  scenery !  The  bravest  soldiers  and  the  best 
citizens  asked  themselves  what  they  ought  to  do, 
and  their  consciences  thus  questioned  knew  not  what 
to  reply.  Never  was  seen  such  a  confusion  in  facts 
and  opinions.  It  resembled  the  eclipse  of  right  and 
duty.  France  was  like  a  puzzled  actress  who,  hav- 
ing been  assigned  to  two  different  parts  in  the  same 
scene,  confounds  the  one  with  the  other.  For  one 
single  nation  there  were  two  sovereigns,  two  flags, 
and,  it  may  even  be  said,  two  countries. 


XXI 


BORDEAUX 


WE  left  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  at  Bor- 
deaux on  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  March, 
1815,  at  the  hour  when  her  husband,  having  passed 
the  night  at  the  ball  given  in  their  honor  by  the 
city  merchants,  set  out  post-haste  for  Nimes,  where 
he  was  to  take  command  of  the  troops  opposed  to 
the  progress  of  Napoleon. 

The  news  of  the  Emperor's  landing  on  the  coast 
of  the  Gulf  of  Juan  did  not  change  the  sentiments 
of  the  Bordeaux  royalists.  The  fete  which  the  city 
gave  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  the  12th  of 
March,  when  Bordeaux  was  the  first  French  city  to 
proclaim  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons,  was  sig- 
nalized by  a  fresh  outburst  of  enthusiasm.  The 
Duchess  of  Angouleme  could  have  wished  to  return 
to  Paris  immediately  after  the  festivities,  there  to 
share  the  perils  of  the  King.  But  Louis  XVIII. 
sent  orders  that  she  was  to  remain  at  Bordeaux  to 
organize  resistance  in  the  city.  Thereafter  the 
Princess  displayed  indefatigable  activity;  she  made 
the  troops  take  the  oath  of  loyalty  over  again, 
held  reviews,  created  corps  of  volunteers,  received 

224 


BORDEAUX  225 


subscriptions,  and  presided  over  a  government  coun- 
cil with  as  much  presence  of  mind  as  firmness. 

On  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  March  Baron  de 
Vitrolles  arrived  at  Bordeaux.  He  was  driven  at 
once  to  the  palace  of  the  Princess.  The  doors  were 
immediately  opened,  and  he  saw  at  the  end  of  several 
parlors  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  on  her  knees 
before  her  prie-dieu.  At  the  noise  made  by  the 
Baron  on  entering  with  the  hussar  who  announced 
him,  the  Princess  rose  with  a  disturbed  contenance. 
M.  de  Vitrolles  at  once  and  without  preamble  pre- 
sented the  King's  letter;  then  he  told  her  the  sad 
news  from  Paris  and  spoke  of  the  impossibility  of 
getting  any  one  there  to  defend  the  capital,  and  also 
of  the  abrupt  departure  of  the  sovereign.  The 
Princess  courageously  fortified  herself  to  hear  with- 
out pallor  the  recital  of  these  events,  which  Louis 
XVIIL's  letter  did  not  explain.  The  Baron  tried 
to  console  her  by  laying  down  a  plan  of  resistance 
for  the  western  and  southern  provinces :  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  left  bank  of  the  Loire  by  troops  drawn 
from  the  corps  of  Marshal  Gouvion  Saint-Cyr  and 
the  Duke  of  Bourbon;  the  establishment  of  a  cen- 
tral administration  at  Toulouse;  a  levy  of  volun- 
teers from  Marseilles  to  Nantes;  the  disbanding  of 
those  regiments  which  were  uncertain ;  and  the  con- 
centration of  all  the  royalist  forces  in  the  strongest 
possible  way.  The  face  of  the  Duchess  of  Angou- 
leme  cleared,  and  hope  seemed  to  take  the  place  of 
anxiety.     "That,  Madame, "  said  the  Baron  in  con- 


226  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

elusion,  "  is  what  we  are  going  to  do,  or  rather  what 
we  shall  try  to  do  as  soon  as  possible  and  with  all 
the  energy  that  the  noble  cause  we  defend  can  give 
us;  that  is  what  we  shall  endeavor  to  accomplish, 
though  probably  too  late."  —  "Why  do  you  say 
that?"  asked  the  Princess.  "Because  it  is  too  late, 
Madame;  because  Paris  is  no  longer  ours,  and  its 
influence  will  paralyze  all  our  efforts.  Because 
.  .  ."  —  "Don't  tell  me  that,"  interrupted  the  Prin- 
cess; "what  is  so  well  conceived  is  already  suc- 
cessfully executed." 

The  Princess  then  said  to  M.  de  Vitrolles  that  as 
yet  she  had  seen  no  sign  of  defection  among  the 
troops  of  the  Bordeaux  garrison;  that  the  officers, 
without  being  consumed  with  zeal,  seemed  disposed 
to  do  their  duty.  That  General  Decaen,  who  com- 
manded the  division,  was  suspected  of  incapacity 
by  some  people,  and  of  still  worse  things  by  others, 
but  that  nothing  seemed  to  lier  to  justify  these 
suspicions.  She  then  accompanied  M.  de  Vitrolles 
to  the  great  hall  of  the  palace,  where  three  or  four 
hundred  civil  and  military  officers  were  assembled. 
She  introduced  the  Baron  to  the  assemblage  and 
announced  the  powers  with  which  he  had  been  in- 
vested by  the  King  to  complete  the  administrative 
organization  of  the  loyal  provinces,  and  then  she 
withdrew. 

M.  de  Vitrolles  remained  and  addressed  the  func- 
tionaries. His  enticing  words  roused  enthusiasm  in 
his  auditors.     Then  he  had  a  private  conversation 


BORDEAUX  227 


with  General  Decaen.  "I  congratulate  you,"  said 
he,  "on  the  confidence  with  which  you  have 
inspired  Madame.  In  our  coming  relations,  my 
confidence  in  you  will  be  boundless."  He  then 
gave  the  general  to  understand  that  faithful  servants 
would  merit  the  greatest  recompense  from  the  crown 
for  their  assistance  amid  such  dangers. 

A  courtier  employed  by  the  Spanish  embassy  was 
going  through  Bordeaux.  A  letter  was  given  to 
him,  in  which  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  asked  the 
Duke  of  Montmorency-Laval,  Louis  XVIII. 's  am- 
bassador at  Madrid,  to  beg  the  King  of  Spain  to 
send  a  body  of  troops  into  France.  "General 
Decaen,"  says  M.  de  Vitrolles,  "was  the  first  to 
speak  to  me  of  the  coming  of  Spanish  troops,  and 
he  proposed  that  I  should  go  on  and  prepare  for 
their  reception.  .  .  .  The  Duchess  of  Angouleme 
instructed  me  to  send  the  King's  letter  to  the  Duke 
of  Bourbon,  in  which  the  purport  of  my  mission  and 
my  approaching  residence  at  Toulouse  were  made 
known  to  him.  .  .  .  Madame's  expectations  in 
regard  to  the  outcome  of  the  projects  we  had  in 
mind  at  that  time  and  the  part  she  was  disposed  to 
take  in  all  of  them  that  were  glorious,  though  dan- 
gerous, inspired  admiration  for  her  person  and  char- 
acter and  gave  unspeakable  energy  to  all  who  were 
called  into  her  service.  One  could  have  wished  to 
realize  the  most  extravagant  of  them,  if  only  so  as 
not  to  be  put  to  the  pain  of  destroying  such  noble 
illusions.     I  left  Bordeaux,  at  which  I  had  stayed 


228  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

for  thirty  hours,  loaded  with  evidences  of  her  good- 
ness, and  proud  of  the  boundless  trust  she  reposed 
in  my  zeal  in  defence  of  the  royal  cause  and  for  the 
safety  of  the  Duke  of  Angouleme,  —  thoughts  with 
which  she  was  constantly  busied." 

Nevertheless,  the  situation  was  hourly  growing 
more  gloomy  for  the  Princess.  It  became  evident 
that  she  could  not  count  on  the  fidelity  of  the  garri- 
son. On  the  26th  of  March,  they  went  to  review 
without  wearing  the  royal  arms  on  their  shakos. 
It  was  learned  at  the  same  time  that  General  Clausel, 
whom  the  Emperor  had  placed  in  command  of  the 
11th  Military  Division  on  the  removal  of  General 
Decaen,  was  approaching  to  take  possession  of  Bor- 
deaux. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme 
wrote  to  Count  de  La  Chatre,  Louis  XVIII. 's 
representative  in  London,  a  letter  which  the  Mar- 
quis of  Thury  has  obligingly  permitted  us  to  see, 
and  which  shows  the  extremities  to  which  the  Prin- 
cess was  reduced:  "I  readily  avail  myself,  sir,  of 
the  offer  of  the  Duke  of  Lorges  to  return  to  Eng- 
land, to  inform  you  in  regard  to  my  position  and 
that  of  the  south.  All  the  ports  of  Rochefort,  La 
Rochelle,  and  Nantes  are  in  insurrection.  Bor- 
deaux still  remains  faithful,  but  God  only  knows 
how  long  it  will  stay  so.  It  must  be  saved  for  the 
King,  and  to  that  end  I  have  directed  the  English 
consul  here,  whom  I  cannot  too  much  praise,  to  ask 
his  government  to  send    English    vessels   up   the 


BOBDEA  UX  229 


river  and  bring  money,  arms,  and  troops,  as  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  save  the  region  to  the  King. 
I  have  succeeded  in  making  the  authorities  see  the 
necessity  of  summoning  foreigners  to  their  aid  and 
receiving  them  amicably.  The  consul  has  promised 
me  that  they  will  come  as  friends,  as  they  did  last 
year,  and  will  commit  no  hostilities  where  they  see 
the  white  flag.  He  mentioned  Blaye,  and  asked 
if  the  English  might  go  into  garrison  there.  I 
refused  and  told  him  that  there  ought  to  be  national 
guards  in  the  fortress;  but  I  now  learn  that  the 
troops  refused  to  obey  the  governor's  order  to 
return,  and  that  they,  like  the  city,  are  in  open 
revolt.  ...  I  shall  remain  here  as  long  as  possi- 
ble. One  cannot  say  what  will  happen  from  one 
day  to  another,  or  even  in  a  few  hours.  The  fires  of 
rebellion  are  spreading  through  the  whole  neighbor- 
hood. As  yet  we  are  untouched  and  have  courage 
and  the  best  wishes  of  the  good  and  faithful,  but 
timid  citizens.  Some  bad  subjects  have  acted  fool- 
ishly, and  one  of  the  regiments  is  at  least  doubtful. 
I  am  very  well  satisfied  with  the  authorities.  I 
believe  that  if  I  have  to  leave  this  good  city  to 
which  I  came  under  such  happy  circumstances,  and 
without  foreseeing  all  these  new  misfortunes,  I  shall 
go  to  Spain.  This  is  what  I  am  advised  to  do.  I 
have  already  written  twice  to  Ferdinand  VII. ;  the 
first  time  to  ask  for  assistance,  protection,  and  brief 
asylum  in  his  dominions  if  I  should  be  forced  to 
seek  it,  and  the  second  time,  after  I  had  received 


230  TflE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULtilE 

powers  from  the  King,  to  ask  him  to  send  troops  to 
France.  This  is  very  important.  I  trust  that  they 
will  be  well  received  by  the  inhabitants,  coming,  as 
they  will,  as  friends  and  allies  of  the  King,  and 
that  they  will  give  support  to  our  volunteers  and 
national  guards,  the  only  troops  on  which  we  can 
still  count.  I  do  not  want  to  cede  Bayonne  to  the 
Spanish  so  long  as  it  can  be  defended  against  Bona- 
parte. 

"According  to  the  latest  advices,  the  Duke  of 
Angouleme  is  still  at  Nlmes.  He  has  assembled 
a  number  of  troops  of  all  classes  and  will  march 
against  Lyons.  He  is  satisfied  with  the  disposition 
of  the  country,  but  his  position  is  very  perilous.  I 
avow  that  I  am  not  without  grave  anxiety  about 
him.  Thrust  as  he  is  into  a  district  from  which  he 
has  no  certain  means  of  escape,  if  escape  should 
become  necessary,  he  certainly  has  much  to  fear. 
This  makes  it  requisite  that  the  Spaniards  should 
come  promptly  to  his  assistance.  May  God  watch 
over  and  make  him  victorious !  The  position  of  the 
Duke  of  Bourbon  also  seems  very  difficult.  Yester- 
day evening  a  courier  came  to  me  from  him;  he  is 
still  in  Vendue  and  hopes  to  bring  the  people  to  his 
support;  there  are  very  few  of  them,  and  they  are 
without  weapons;  some  of  the  cities  are  in  revolt, 
and  all  the  ports,  which  fact  deprives  him  of  means 
of  escape.  This  is  why  I  write,  asking  you  to  urge 
the  English  ministry,  if  it  wishes  to  rescue  the 
Duke  of  Bourbon,   to  send  troops   at  once   to   the 


BORDEAUX  231 


river-front  of  Bordeaux  with  sufficient  money  and 
arms  to  support  the  well-affected  volunteers." 

The  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  whose  heart  was 
thoroughly  French,  must  have  suffered  cruelly  to 
implore  foreign  aid.  Her  letter  ends  thus :  "  There 
you  have,  sir,  all  the  news  I  can  give  you  from  here. 
The  news  is  not  pleasant,  but  as  yet  there  is  no 
cause  for  despair.  I  keep  up  my  courage  and  am 
hopeful.  But  the  position  of  the  King  afflicts  me 
greatly,  and  I  am  very  sorry  about  the  journey  that 
separated  me  from  him  while  such  things  were 
going  on.  My  only  consolation  is  the  thought  that 
perhaps  my  presence  here  may  be  of  service  to  him ; 
my  sole  desire,  my  one  object,  is  to  work  in  his 
behalf." 

The  chief  characters  in  the  drama  we  are  about  to 
describe  are  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  General 
Decaen,  and  General  Clausel.  We  say  drama, 
because  in  the  eyes  of  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI. 
it  was  one  of  the  saddest  episodes  in  her  history, 
and  one  replete  with  catastrophes.  The  assistants 
in  the  drama  are  the  city  population,  the  national 
guard,  and  the  volunteers. 

The  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  a  woman  devoted  to 
duty,  and  one  of  deep  convictions  and  indomitable 
heart,  and  who  closely  resembled  her  grandmother 
the  great  Empress,  Maria  Theresa,  understood  how 
to  set  an  example  of  courage  and  energy  to  everybody. 
The  idea  of  flight  was  revolting  to  her  pride.  Being 
unable  to  get  used  to  the  thought  that  all  the  enthu- 


232  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

siastic  demonstrations  of  which  she  had  for  a  month 
been  the  object  would  prove  to  be  shams,  she  was 
willing  till  the  end  to  put  confidence  in  sworn 
fidelity.  The  soldiers  of  the  garrison  greeted  her 
with  the  same  applause  as  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city.  Did  not  the  officers  continually  tell  her  that 
though  she  ran  risks,  they  would  be  happy  to  shed 
their  last  drop  of  blood  for  her?  Did  they  not 
weary  her  with  their  protestations  of  devotion? 
Was  not  the  odor  of  the  incense  burned  before  her 
extremely  encouraging?  Ah,  well!  The  time  to 
keep  all  these  fine  promises  has  come.  What! 
would  all  this  splendid  talk  turn  out  to  be  a  mere 
lie?  The  daughter  of  the  martyred  King  and 
Queen,  the  orphan  of  the  Temple  whose  legendary 
woes  had  been  remembered  with  such  piety  and 
tenderness,  —  was  she  not  to  remain  even  one  year 
in  her  native  land  before  once  more  being  driven 
into  exile  ?  How  cruel  the  thought  !  How  unspeak- 
able her  anguish!  The  Duchess  sometimes  says  to 
herself:  "No;  not  flight,  — rather  death!  "  It  is  not 
alone  as  a  princess  of  the  House  of  Bourbon  that  she 
suffers,  but  as  a  Frenchwoman.  Convinced  that  the 
brief  triumph  of  Bonaparte  will  be  the  cause  of  terri- 
ble disasters,  bloody  catastrophes,  and  hecatombs  of 
victims  if  foreigners  invade  the  country,  she  acts 
neither  from  selfishness  nor  from  ambition.  She  will 
not  deign  to  bow  her  head  before  the  tempest,  how- 
ever rude  it  may  be,  for  she  is  firmly  convinced  that 
the  Bourbon  cause  is  the  cause  of  her  fatherland. 


BORDEAUX  233 


This  is  why  that  woman  who  would  willingly  have 
sacrificed  herself  if  she  had  acted  on  her  own  im- 
pulse, is  so  furious,  so  impassioned,  in  defence  of  the 
King.  To  her  it  is  a  question  of  conscience;  it  is 
a  question  of  honor. 

General  Decaen  was  preyed  upon  by  the  greatest 
perplexities.  Filled  with  admiration  for  Napoleon 
and  for  the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme,  he  wanted  to 
serve  both  the  Emperor  and  the  Princess  at  the  same 
time.  The  oaths  he  had  taken  in  succession  were 
mutually  contradictory  in  the  court  of  conscience. 
At  the  outset  he  did  not  think  that  his  former 
master  would  be  successful.  While  living  in  an 
atmosphere  of  the  most  pure  and  exalted  royalism  he 
had  issued  a  proclamation  to  his  command,  on  the 
11th  of  March,  and  in  it  were  the  following  expres- 
sions: "A  man  who  betrayed  the  dearest  interests 
of  France  and  was  ready  to  sacrifice  them  to  his 
personal  ambition,  —  a  man  who  left  the  country 
defenceless  and  at  the  mercy  of  foreigners;  who 
voluntarily  abdicated  a  crown  which  he  was  not 
intelligent  enough  to  keep  although  a  million  brave 
soldiers  had  died  in  its  defence,  has  now  proved  false 
to  his  oaths  and  come,  at  the  head  of  a  horde  of 
insensate  men,  to  violate  our  territory."  The  gen- 
eral took  part  in  the  royalist  fete  of  the  12th  of 
March,  and  was  connected  with  all  the  manifesta- 
tions of  devotion  to  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI. 
Since  then  he  had  been  incessantly  at  the  side  of  the 
Princess,  who  gave  him  distinguished  proofs  of  con- 


234  TUE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

fidence  and  treated  him  in  the  most  flattering  way. 
At  banquets  —  for  the  troops  still  fraternized  with 
the  national .  guard  —  it  was  Lc  who  proposed  the 
toast  to  duty  and  fidelity.  It  was  hard  for  him 
to  forsake  a  man  who  was  his  sovereign.  But  a 
woman  I  To  betray  a  woman ;  to  deliver  up  a  wo- 
man to  her  enemies  was  repugnant  to  the  heart  of 
a  Frenchman.  Besides  this,  General  Decaen  had 
a  horror  of  civil  war.  He  believed  that  the  Bour- 
bon cause  was  irrecoverably  lost,  since  he  knew  that 
the  Emperor  had  triumphantly  entered  the  Tuileries. 
His  opinion  thereafter  was  that  Napoleon  could  only 
have  returned  with  the  consent  of  the  Powers,  and 
especially  of  Austria,  and  that  Louis  XVIII.  could 
rely  on  foreigners  no  more  than  he  could  on  France. 
And  then,  —  what  would  be  the  use  of  a  fratricidal 
struggle  with  his  old  comrades  in  arms  ?  How  un- 
happy is  a  time  when  men  of  courage  are  exposed  to 
such  uncertainty  as  to  what  is  duty  and  right! 

As  regards  General  Clausel,  it  was  but  a  few  days 
since  he  had  entertained  no  animosity  whatever 
against  the  Restoration.  Very  well  placed  at  court, 
given  the  grand  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  and 
made  inspector-general  of  infantry  by  Louis  XVIIL, 
he  had  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  King. 
He  had  received  the  Duke  of  Angoul^me  at  Toulouse 
the  previous  year,  and  given  him  the  most  loyal  and 
respectful  welcome.  He  had  the  highest  esteem  for 
the  character  of  Louis  XVI. 's  daughter,  and  would 
have  grieved  to  see  any  misfortune  happen  to  that 


BORDEAUX  235 


noble  and  courageous  Princess.  But,  like  all  the 
rest  of  the  array,  General  Clausel  was  carried  away 
by  the  prestige  of  Napoleon's  coming  to  conquer 
France  with  a  handful  of  men.  After  the  Kingr's 
hasty  flight,  he  could  not  believe  that  a  woman  could 
entertain  the  idea  of  defending  Bordeaux.  Already 
sure  of  the  imperialist  sentiments  of  the  garrison,  he 
started  with  only  two  aides-de-camp,  and  without  con- 
cerning himself  about  the  currents  of  the  Dordogne 
and  the  Garonne,  which  he  must  cross  before  reaching 
his  post.  A  few  pieces  of  cannon  suffice  to  arrest 
considerable  bodies  of  troops.  On  his  way.  General 
Clausel  picked  up  several  gendarmes  and  about 
two  hundred  foot  soldiers.  With  this  little  band 
he  proposed  to  conquer  his  own  command,  the  11th 
Military  Division,  Avhose  headquarters  were  at  Bor- 
deaux. It  was  a  sort  of  miniature  edition  of  the 
return  from  Elba.  The  general  advanced  tranquilly, 
feeling  convinced  that  the  National  Guard  of  Bor- 
deaux would  oppose  no  serious  resistance,  and  hoping 
that  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  would  understand 
the  situation,  and  fly  as  her  uncle,  the  King,  had 
done. 

The  population  is  very  well  disposed  towards 
the  royal  cause,  but  it  would  not  be  wise  to 
demand  great  sacrifices  from  them.  Bordeaux,  that 
amiable,  intelligent,  and  lettered  city,  proud  of 
its  fine  theatre  and  its  vast  commerce,  would  not 
willingly  undergo  a  siege  like  that  of  Saragossa. 
Bordeaux  it  was  which,  on  the  12th  of  March,  1814, 


236  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

had  been  the  first  French  city  to  unfurl  the  white 
flag.  But  —  thanks  to  British  troops  —  that  exploit 
was  very  easily  accomplished.  The  people  of  Bor- 
deaux will  burst  into  tears,  talk,  and  cheers,  but  a 
battery  of  imperial  artillery  pointed  at  their  walls 
will  very  soon  set  them  to  thinking. 

The  national  guard  is  still  enthusiastic  over  the 
Duchess  of  Angoul^me.  Accompanied  by  troops  of 
the  line,  it  may  even  fight  bravely,  but  to  struggle 
alone  against  imperialist  regiments  will  be  a  task 
absolutely  beyond  its  powers.  When  it  shall  be 
advised  by  some  one  to  make  a  sortie  en  masse  to 
meet  the  little  army  of  General  Clausel  it  will  reply, 
perhaps  rightly:  "It  is  impossible;  we  should  be 
between  two  fires.  As  soon  as  we  had  left  Bor- 
deaux, the  garrison  would  declare  against  us  and 
pursue  us." 

Nevertheless,  some  volunteers  are  found  among 
the  more  decided,  the  men  who  are  under  orders 
to  march  against  General  Clausel.  There  are  about 
five  hundred  of  them,  and,  with  several  cannon, 
they  are  placed  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Dordogne 
—  General  Clausel  takes  up  a  position  on  the 
right  bank,  at  the  castle  of  Saint-Andr^  de  Cubzac. 
He  asks  the  royal  volunteers  to  send  him  some- 
body with  whom  he  can  confer.  M.  de  Martignac 
is  sent.  The  general  tells  him  that  resistance  will 
be  useless;  that,  had  it  been  his  wish,  he  could 
already  have  been  master  of  Bordeaux,  where  the 
entire  garrison  is  impatiently  expecting  him;  that 


BORDEAUX  2S7 


out  of  respect  for  the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme,  of 
whom  he  had  the  most  pleasant  recollections,  he  had 
postponed  for  a  day  his  entrance  into  the  city  in 
order  to  give  the  Princess  time  to  make  her  escape ; 
but  that  a  second  postponement  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, and  that  he  thought  it  a  proof  of  his  deference 
for  Madame  that  he  begged  her  to  go  away.  He 
then  gives  the  messenger  a  despatch  for  the  authori- 
ties of  Bordeaux ;  it  is  a  demand  that  the  gates  of 
the  city  be  opened  to  the  imperial  troops  on  the  next 
day,  the  31st  of  March.  M.  de  Martignac  with- 
draws and  takes  the  despatch  to  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme. 

The  Princess  convokes  the  general  council  of  the 
department,  the  council  of  the  arrondissement,  and 
the  city  council,  in  order  to  discuss  the  situation. 
General  Decaen  assists  at  the  deliberation.  He  does 
not  conceal  the  truth.  The  garrison  at  the  citadel 
of  Blaye,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Gironde,  has  already 
been  won  over  by  emissaries  of  General  Clausel. 
It  has  unfurled  the  tricolor,  and  the  Bordeaux  gar- 
rison awaits  only  a  signal  to  follow  the  example. 
If  the  national  guard  leaves  the  city,  the  troops  will 
at  once  pronounce  for  the  Emperor.  It  is  learned 
also  that  General  Clausel  has  just  crossed  the  Dor- 
dogne,  where  the  royal  forces  have  been  repulsed. 

M.  de  Martignac  returns,  in  his  quality  as  go- 
between,  to  the  general  to  ask  of  him  a  further 
delay  of  twenty-four  hours,  during  which  perhaps 
the    Princess    will   decide    to    take    her   departure. 


288  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

This  delay  is  g^ranted.  But  the  daughter  of  Louis 
XVI.  does  not  want  to  abandon  her  post.  She  is 
informed  that  the  tricolor  already  floats  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Garonne.  Nothing  either  intimidates 
or  discourages  her.  On  the  morning  of  the  Ist  of 
April  she  says  to  General  Decaen:  **!  wish  the 
troops  to  aMemble  at  once  in  their  barracks ;  I  will 
go  and  see  them."  —  ** Madame,"  replies  the  general, 
**  I  ask  Your  Highness's  permission  to  disobey  you. 
You  do  not  dream  of  the  possible  consequences  of 
such  a  visit  at  such  a  moment."  "General,  I  wish 
it.  If  it  has  bad  results,  it  is  I  who  take  the  respon- 
sibility." Somebody  said:  "But,  Madame,  doubt- 
less, does  not  understand  that  there  has  been  a  fresh 
distribution  of  cartridges  this  morning,  one  made  by 
the  orders  of  government."  —  "I  will  compel  no}x)dy 
to  follow  me,"  says  the  Princess.  "'Tis  enough;  I 
have  given  an  order;  I  wish  to  be  obeyed." 

It  is  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  Duchess 
of  AngoulSme  sets  out  in  an  open  carriage,  to  go 
to  the  Saint-Raphael  barracks.  General  Decaen,  on 
horseback,  is  at  her  right  hand.  Surrounded  by  a 
comparatively  large  staff,  she  is  followed  by  an 
escort  of  officers,  volunteers,  and  national  guards. 
When  she  reaches  the  barracks,  she  alights  and 
enters  them.  The  soldiers  are  placed  in  two  ranks 
that  face  each  other.  The  officers  come  forward  and 
surround  the  Princess.  "Gentlemen,"  she  says,  "I 
am  not  ignorant  of  wliat  has  been  going  on.  A 
usurper  has  taken  the  crown  from  your  King.     Bor- 


BORDEAUX  S89 

deaux  is  threatened  by  a  factious  crowd.  The 
national  guard  is  determined  to  defend  the  ci^. 
Are  you  willing  to  assist  the  national  guard?  I 
want  you  to  answer  me  frankly.  Let  there  be  no 
equivocation.  Yes  or  no — will  you  fight  for  the 
King?" 

There  is  no  response.  An  icy  silence  prevails. 
**  You  do  not  then  remember  the  oath  you  renewed 
but  a  short  time  ago,  between  these  hands  of  mine? 
If  there  still  remain  among  von  son\e  men  who  do 
remember  them  and  who  are  faithful  to  the  cause 
of  the  King,  let  them  come  out  from  the  ranks ;  let 
them  show  themselves  1  '*  A  few  officers  step  out* 
"There  are  -s-erv  few  of  you.  It  does  not  matter. 
I  know  at  least  who  are  to  be  counted  oi\I*'  A 
chief  of  battalion  stivs:  "Your  Highness  may  count 
on  us  to  look  lifter  you  persomUly."  —  "The  matter,'* 
savs  she,  "does  not  cf>ncern  me;  it  concerns  the 
King.  Yes  or  no  —  will  you  serve  him?"  "We 
have  no  desire  for  civil  ^^•ar.  We  will  not  fight 
against  our  brothers!"  —  "Your  Im^thcrs?  You 
forget  that  they  aiv  iflvlsl"  —  and  the  IMncess 
witlulmws,  calm  and  haughty. 

Still  less  does  her  visit  to  the  second  l>arracks 
reassure  her.  This  time,  the  Duchess  of  Ansjou- 
lome  is  received  not  with  silence,  but  witli  actual 
hostility.  She  wishes  to  speak,  and  her  voice  is 
drowned  with  cries  of  "Long  live  tlie  Emperorl" 
She  loi^ks  at  the  soldiers  with  dignity,  and  leaves 
tliem  with  laggartl  footsteps. 


240  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL&ME 

"Now,"  she  says,  "I  will  go  to  the  third  barracks, 
those  of  the  Ch&teau-Trompette."  In  vain  do  they 
try  to  dissuade  her.  Despising  all  pusillanimous 
advice,  she  goes  her  own  way.  When  she  reaches 
the  very  entrance  of  the  fortress  Ch&teau-Trompette, 
she  is  notified  that  she  will  not  be  permitted  to 
enter  with  her  generals  and  her  equerry,  M.  de 
Lur-Saluces.  "No  matter,"  she  says,  "I  will  go 
in  alone."  In  the  barracks  she  finds  a  regiment  of 
the  sixty-second  line.  She  asks  the  commander: 
"Do  you  intend  to  fight  in  the  King's  cause."  — 
"No,  Madame,"  replies  the  commander;  "circum- 
stances are  changed,  and,  besides,  our  soldiers  will 
not  fight  against  Frenchmen."  "If  that  is  the 
reason  that  prevents  you  from  doing  your  duty," 
replies  the  Princess,  "promise  me  at  least  to  remain 
neutrals,  and  allow  the  national  guards  and  the 
royal  volunteers  to  defend  themselves."  —  "No, 
Madame,"  cries  the  captain  of  the  battalion;  "if  the 
national  guard  attacks  us,  we  will  throw  ourselves 
on  it  in  turn."  These  final  words  draw  tears  from 
the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  She  dejectedly  says: 
"Then  you  no  longer  regard  as  Frenchmen  those 
who  remain  faithful  to  the  calls  of  honor,"  and, 
turning  to  the  officers,  she  says :  "  Do  you  all  think 
as  your  commander  does?"  They  answer,  "Yes." 
One  alone,  Captain  Cosseron  de  Villenoisy,  opposes 
the  general  defection.  Stepping  from  the  ranks  and 
advancing  toward  the  Princess,  he  says:  "I  will  not 
increase  the  number  of  traitors.     Rather  will  I  die 


BORDEAUX  241 


for  the  King  than  be  false  to  my  oath."  The  Duch- 
ess of  Angouleme  replies:  "I  cannot  consent  to 
your  sacrifice,  Captain."  At  this  moment  some  of 
the  soldiers  become  menacing.  The  officer  cries 
out :  "  If  you  would  only  reflect  for  a  moment,  you 
would  follow  my  example."  Quiet  is  then  restored, 
but  the  Princess,  despairing  of  being  able  to  recall 
the  battalion  to  its  duty  to  the  King's  cause,  finds 
it  necessary  to  withdraw.  She  goes  back  again 
under  the  batteries  of  the  fort.  Captain  Cosseron 
de  Villenoisy  accompanies  her.  In  the  dignity  of 
her  mien,  and  in  her  imperturbable  calmness,  she 
shows  herself  worthy  of  her  mother.  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, looking  down  from  the  balcony  of  the  chateau 
at  Versailles  on  the  afternoon  of  the  6th  of  October, 
1789,  and  surveying  the  crowd  that  swarmed  in  the 
courtyard,  displayed  no  greater  firmness  and  pride. 
Her  daughter  withdrew  with  dignity,  and  as  she  left 
the  fortress  she  was  saluted  with  the  roll  of  drums. 

It  is  finished;  the  end  at  last  is  at  hand.  The 
Princess  summons  M.  de  Martignac.  "You  will 
cross  the  river,"  she  tells  him,  "and  say  to  General 
Clausel  that  in  happier  times  I  recognized  his  ser- 
vices, and  that  then  he  often  assured  me  of  his 
devotion.  I  ask  of  him  only  one  thing  more,  and 
that  is  that  he  will  defer  his  entry  into  Bordeaux 
till  to-morrow.  I  shall  be  most  grateful  for  what 
he  will  have  done  for  me." 

A  review  of  the  national  guard  and  the  volun- 
teers took  place  in  the  afternoon  on  the  quay  of  the 


242  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

Garonne.  The  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  attended  it. 
General  Clausel's  troops  could  be  seen  on  the  oppo- 
site bank.  The  two  flags  were  face  to  face, — the 
white  on  one  shore,  the  tricolor  on  the  other.  The 
soldiers  of  the  two  rival  causes  were  separated  from 
each  other  only  by  half  a  cannon-shot.  As  soon  as 
the  Princess  appeared  she  was  received  with  unani- 
mous shouts  by  the  militia  of  Bordeaux.  Rising 
in  her  carriage  so  as  to  be  heard  more  distinctly, 
she  cries :  "  Citizens  of  Bordeaux,  I  am  about  to  ask 
of  you  a  new  sacrifice,  a  new  oath.  Do  you  swear 
to  obey  me  in  everything?"  —  "We  swear  it." 
"Alas!  after  what  I  have  seen  we  can  no  longer 
reckon  on  the  help  of  the  garrison.  It  is  useless 
to  attempt  to  defend  ourselves.  You  have  done 
enough  for  honor.  Keep  some  faithful  subjects  for 
the  King  when  better  times  shall  come.  I  take 
everj'thing  on  myself.  I  command  you  to  resist  no 
longer."  —  "No,  no!  we  will  die  for  the  King  and 
for  you."  "I  have  heard  your  oath.  Surely,  my 
good  people  of  Bordeaux,  you  will  not  condescend 
to  perjury.  Your  King's  niece  commands  you. 
Obey.  You  must  stop  fighting.  I  am  about  to 
leave  you.  Receive  my  adieus."  Hereupon  a  great 
tumult  arises.  Some  are  willing  to  obey,  and  others 
wish  to  struggle  as  long  as  possible.  General 
Clausel,  who,  on  the  other  bank  of  the  river,  hears 
the  hubbub,  trains  some  pieces  of  artillery  on  the 
spot  where  the  Princess  is  reviewing  the  troops. 
Within  a  few  days  he  will  say  to  M.    de   Saint- 


BORDEA  UX  243 


Girgues,  one  of  the  royal  volunteers:  "It  was 
Madame,  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  who  saved  you 
all.  I  could  never  consent  to  fire  on  the  Princess, 
while  she  was  writing  the  finest  page  in  her  history. 
It  was  the  first  duty  of  a  soldier  to  respect  such 
courage." 

During  the  review  of  tlie  national  guards  on  the 
quay  of  the  Garonne,  M.  de  Martignac,  who  has 
been  sent  as  commissioner,  is  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river  with  General  Clausel.  He  is  very  anxious 
to  defer  the  general's  entry  into  Bordeaux  till  the 
next  morning,  the  2d  of  April.  "What  is  the  use 
of  all  this  disturbance?"  says  the  general,  as  he 
hears  the  shouts  of  the  national  guards  in  the  dis- 
tance. "  Am  I  not  already  master  of  the  city  ?  Do 
you  want  proof  of  it  ?  I  have  but  to  give  a  signal, 
and  immediately  you  will  see  the  tricolor  floating 
from  the  top  of  the  Chateau-Trompette."  No  sooner 
said  than  done.  The  three  colors  appear  there.  On 
seeing  them,  the  national  guard  send  up  a  howl  of 
rage.  "We  are  betrayed!"  they  cry,  and  fire  upon 
several  of  their  officers  whom  they  regard  with 
suspicion.  Unspeakable  disorder  prevails.  The 
garrison  is  already  leaving  its  barracks. 

Nevertheless,  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  goes  back 
to  the  Chateau-Royal,  accompanied  still  by  General 
Decaen.  Suddenly  angry  shouts  are  heard  before  the 
gate :  "  Let  us  shoot  General  Decaen !  He  is  a  trai- 
tor! "  The  Princess  had  to  appear  on  the  balcony  in 
order  to  appease  the  crowd  and  keep  it  from  crime. 


244  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

M.  de  Martignac  has  just  returned,  bringing  Gen- 
eral Clausel's  last  word  that,  when  the  proper  time 
comes,  he  will  enter  Bordeaux.  Not  wishing  to  be 
taken  prisoner,  the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  decides 
at  last  to  leave  the  city.  "Gentlemen,"  says  she  to 
the  officers  by  whom  she  is  still  surrounded,  "  you 
answer  to  me  for  the  safety  of  the  town.  Keep  your 
troops  and  preserve  Bordeaux  from  all  disorder. 
From  this  moment  it  is  in  your  hands."  —  "We 
swear  it!"  they  cry.  "Ah!"  she  replies,  "more 
oaths!  I  have  heard  enough  of  them.  I  want  to 
hear  no  more.  The  niece  of  your  King  gives  you 
her  last  command.  Obey  it!"  It  is  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  The  city  is  in  gloom.  The 
weather  is  as  bad  as  it  was  when  Louis  XVIII.  left 
Paris.  Rain  falls  in  torrents;  the  storm  rages,  and 
the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  departs  in  despair. 


XXII 

LONDON  . 

THE  Duchess  of  Angouleme  sets  out  from  Bor- 
deaux as  a  princess,  with  an  escort  of  volun- 
teers and  mounted  national  guards,  who  do  not 
leave  her  till  she  embarks.  On  the  day  after  her 
departure,  a  few  minutes  before  General  Clausel's 
entrance,  people  read  the  following  proclamation 
dictated  by  the  Princess  and  posted  on  the  city 
walls  on  the  1st  of  April:  "People  of  Bordeaux, 
your  fidelity  is  known  to  me.  Your  boundless 
devotion  prevents  you  from  seeing  any  danger,  but 
my  attachment  to  you  and  to  all  Frenchmen  demands 
that  I  shall  be  on  the  watch.  My  longer  residence 
in  your  city  would  only  make  your  position  graver 
and  visit  you  with  heavy  vengeance.  I  have  not 
the  courage  to  see  Frenchmen  unhappy  and  to  be 
the  cause  of  their  misfortunes.  I  leave  you,  my 
brave  citizens,  deeply  affected  by  the  sentiments  you 
have  expressed  in  regard  to  me,  and  I  assure  you 
they  will  be  faithfully  transmitted  to  the  King. 
By  the  blessing  of  God  I  shall  soon  be  in  better  cir- 
cumstances, and  then  I  will  show  you  how  both  the 
Prince  whom  you  love  and  myself  appreciate  your 

attachment." 

246 


246  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 


On  the  morning  of  the  2d.  of  April,  in  a  cold  rain 
accompanied  by  gusts  of  wind  that  had  been  blow- 
ing all  night,  the  fugitive  reached  Pauillac,  the 
little  county-seat  of  a  canton  on  the  Gironde,  in  the 
arrondissement  of  Lesparre.  There  she  heard  Mass, 
and  embarked  on  the  English  vessel  Wanderer.  In 
taking  leave  of  the  Frenchmen  who  composed  her 
escort,  she  gave  them  some  white  and  green  ribbons 
that  she  wore  in  her  hair.  "  Bring  them  back  to  me 
in  better  days,"  she  said,  "and  Marie  Th^rese  will 
show  you  that  she  has  a  good  memory  and  that  she 
has  not  forgotten  her  friends  at  Bordeaux." 

The  bad  weather  that  had  begun  on  the  1st  of 
April  lasted  a  whole  week.  The  waves  of  the  sea 
were  as  tumultuous  as  the  destinies  of  the  unhappy 
Princess.  The  ship  that  bore  her  skirted  the  coasts 
of  Spain,  but  could  not  effect  a  landing  there,  and 
it  was  not  till  the  8th  of  April  that  the  port  of 
Passages  was  entered. 

Hardly  had  she  landed  when  she  received  a  letter 
from  the  King  of  Spain,  offering  her  an  asylum  in 
his  dominions.  She  interrogated  the  Spanish  oflB- 
cers,  and,  finding  that  she  could  not  effect  anything 
to  her  purpose,  she  set  sail  for  England  on  the  11th 
of  April.  The  sea  was  rough  and  the  wind  con- 
trary, and  it  weis  not  till  the  19th  that  she  reached 
Plymouth,  whence  she  proceeded  to  London.  On 
the  same  day  of  the  foregoing  year  she  had  left 
Hartwell  Castle,  where  she  had  spent  most  of  her 
exile,  and,  with  her  uncle  the  King  she  had  made  a 


LONDON  247 

triumphal  entrance  into  the  English  capital.  On 
that  day  she  had  been  welcomed  with  the  greatest 
enthusiasm.  The  crowd  unhitched  the  horses  and 
drew  the  carriage  of  Louis  XVI. 's  brother  and 
daughter.  The  London  streets  were  draped  with 
white  flags  and  the  windows  were  thronged  Avith 
elegantly  dressed  women  who  waved  their  handker- 
chiefs in  delight.  To  Louis  XVIII. ,  at  whose  side 
his  niece  sat,  the  Prince  Regent  had  said:  "The 
triumph  and  transports  of  joy  with  which  Your 
Majesty  was  greeted  on  your  entrance  to  your  own 
capital  can  hardly  surpass  the  delight  elicited  by 
Your  Majesty's  restoration  to  the  throne  of  your 
ancestors  in  the  breasts  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
capital  of  the  British  Empire." 

How  great  the  difference  between  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme's  departure  from  London  in  April,  1814, 
and  her  return  to  London  in  April,  1815!  She 
came  not  now  as  a  victorious  Princess,  but  as  a 
fugitive,  a  woman  proscribed,  but  a  proscribed 
woman  who  would  not  bow  her  head  under  the 
blows  of  fate  —  a  proscribed  woman  full  of  intelli- 
gence and  pride,  who,  instead  of  succumbing  to  so 
cruel  a  series  of  disasters,  showed  in  misfortunes 
only  increased  firmness,  energy,  and  courage. 

Since  leaving  Bordeaux  the  Duchess  of  Angou- 
16me  had  known  absolutely  nothing  of  what  had 
become  of  her  husband,  and  this  uncertainty  plunged 
her  into  the  gravest  apprehensions.  When  she 
reached   London,  where    she    became    the   guest   of 


248  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULISME 

Count  de  La  Ch^tre,  Louis  XVIII. 's  ambassador,  she 
learned  that  the  Duke  was  Napoleon's  prisoner.  On 
the  21st  of  April,  M.  de  La  Ch§,tre  wrote  to  Count 
de  Blacas:  "The  Princess  displayed  the  greatest 
courage  on  the  receipt  of  this  dreadful  intelligence, 
but  tears  filled  her  eyes  when  she  was  alone  with 
me." 

At  first  the  Duke  of  Angouleme  had  met  with 
some  success.  After  having  added  to  his  troops  of 
the  line  some  volunteers  from  Aix,  Marseilles,  and 
Nimes,  he  took  Pont-Saint-Esprit  on  the  28th  of 
March.  At  the  head  of  six  thousand  men  he  led  the 
white  flag  against  the  tricolor  and  entered  Valence 
on  the  3d  of  April.  But  his  success  was  short- 
lived. Abandoned  by  most  of  his  officers,  menaced 
by  a  force  superior  to  his  own,  attacked  in  front  by 
the  troops  and  national  guards  of  Lyons  and  his 
retreat  cut  off  by  General  Gilly,  who  had  aroused  the 
regiment  left  at  Nimes,  he  knew  that  all  was  lost. 
Then,  intent  only  on  saving  those  who  were  devoted 
to  him,  he  capitulated  on  the  8th  of  April  at 
Palud,  a  town  near  Pont-Saint-Esprit.  The  royal 
volunteers  were  to  be  disbanded,  lay  down  their  arms 
and  return  to  their  homes  without  molestation.  The 
troops  of  the  line  were  to  give  in  their  submission  to 
the  new  government,  and  their  officers  were  not  to  be 
molested  because  of  their  fidelity  to  the  royal  cause. 
As  to  the  Duke  of  Angouleme,  he  was  to  betake 
himself  to  Cette,  where  he  should  embark  for  Spain. 
These  were  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  concluded 


LONDON  249 

by  Baron  de  Damas  with  General  Gilly,  and  ratified 
by  the  Prince.  On  the  following  day  he  set  out, 
and  on  reaching  Pont-Saint-Esprit,  he  was  arrested 
by  the  orders  of  General  de  Grouchy,  who  for  some 
hours  had  been  commander-in-chief  of  the  imperi- 
alist forces.  Without  regard  to  the  capitulation, 
the  general  asked  orders  from  the  Emperor. 

In  attendance  on  the  captive  Prince  were  the 
Duke  of  Guiche,  Baron  de  Damas,  Viscount  des 
Cars,  and  Count  Gaston  de  L^vis.  What  was  to 
become  of  him  ?  Should  he  dread  the  vengeance  of 
Napoleon,  outlawed  by  the  Vienna  Congress  ?  Was 
he  to  be  held  as  a  hostage,  or  was  something  worse 
in  store  for  him?  The  royalists  mentioned  with 
terror  the  name  of  the  Duke  of  Enghien.  The 
Bonapartists  raised  threatening  outcries  around  the 
house  where  he  was  held  prisoner.  But  the  Prince 
was  perfectly  untroubled :  "  I  am  resigned  to  every- 
thing and  worried  only  about  those  whom  I  hold 
dear,"  he  wrote  to  Louis  XVIII.;  "but  I  ask  and 
even  exact  that  the  King  shall  give  up  nothing  in 
order  to  secure  my  release.  I  fear  neither  death  nor 
imprisonment,  and  shall  willingly  accept  at  the 
hands  of  God  whatever  may  come." 

Such  was  the  news  received  by  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme  upon  reaching  London.  Her  apprehen- 
sions, grave  at  first,  will  subside  when  she  learns,  a 
short  time  afterwards,  that  her  husband  has  ])een  set 
at  liberty  after  six  days  of  captivity,  and  that  —  the 
Emperor,   having  finished  by  accepting  the  capita- 


250  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULkME 

lation  at  La  Palud  —  the  Duke  has  embarked  at 
Cette  and  arrived  safely  at  Barcelona,  whence  he 
proceeded  to  Madrid. 

In  short,  the  Duke  of  Angoul^me  acted  the  part 
of  a  brave  man.  Once  while  he  was  making  a  recon- 
naissance of  Pont-Saint-Esprit,  somebody  warned 
him  that  he  was  going  too  near.  "  I  am  somewhat 
short-sighted,"  he  replied;  "I  like  to  see  the  enemy 
close  by."  The  following  passage  occurs  in  Baron 
Louis  de  Viel-Castel's  Hlatoire  de  la  Restoration: 
"  The  simple  and  courageous  conduct  of  the  Duchess 
of  Angouleme  excited  great  enthusiasm  in  the  roj'al- 
ist  party.  And  even  outside  of  that  party,  profound 
admiration  and  respect  were  felt  for  a  Princess  who, 
condemned  from  childliood  to  so  many  misfortunes, 
still  displayed  a  bravery  equal  to  the  most  varied 
tests.  Napoleon  was  fond  of  saying  that  she  was 
the  only  man  in  her  family.  The  expression  was 
much  quoted  by  the  enemies  of  the  Bourbons.  In 
the  guise  of  a  just  compliment  to  the  daughter  of 
Louis  XVI.  it  branded  all  her  relatives  as  ridicu- 
lous and  despicable.  And  besides,  at  that  very 
moment  the  Duke  of  Angouleme  was  showing  in 
another  portion  of  the  south  that  he  was  not 
unworthy  of  his  noble  companion." 

The  energy  displayed  by  her  husband  was  a  great 
consolation  to  the  Princess.  While  in  London  she 
resided  at  the  house  of  Louis  XVIII.  's  ambassador. 
"Madame  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,"  wrote  Count 
de  La  Chatre,  "  is  much  pleased  to  be  with  us.     She 


LONDON  251 


sees  little  of  society.  Nearly  all  the  English,  minis- 
ters have  visited  her,  as  also  have  their  wives.  The 
diplomatic  corps  came  also,  but  each  embassy  sepa- 
rately, in  accordance  with  Madame's  wishes." 

The  Princess  was  actively  engaged  in  politics. 
She  Avas,  in  reality,  the  emissary  of  Louis  XVIII. 
With  the  assistance  of  Count  de  La  Chatre  and  the 
Prince  of  Castelcicala,  who  was  ambassador  of  the 
King  of  the  Two  Sicilies  at  London,  she  carefully 
watched  over  the  interests  of  the  royal  cause. 

The  attitude  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  who  with 
his  family  was  then  in  London,  caused  Louis 
XVIII.  some  misgivings.  The  Duke  was  vaguely 
suspected  of  cherishing  ambitious  designs.  On  the 
30th  of  March,  the  Prince  of  Castelcicala  wrote  to 
Count  de  Blacas:  "As  to  the  Duke  of  Orleans, 
without  saying  too  much  in  regard  to  him  —  for  I 
would  like  with  all  my  heart  to  see  him  render 
service  to  the  King  and  to  be  able  to  be  serviceable 
to  him  myself,  since  he  is  the  husband  of  my  mas- 
ter's daughter,  who  is  a  truly  good  and  virtuous 
Princess  —  it  must  be  said  that  his  way  of  blaming 
and  censuring  the  government  of  the  King  attracts 
to  him  all  people  of  like  mind,  which  is  not  coming 
to  the  support  of  the  government  at  all."  And  on 
the  1st  of  April,  Count  de  Blacas  wrote  from  Ghent 
to  the  Prince  of  Castelcicala:  "The  visit  of  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  to  London  without  asking  the 
King's  consent,  and  contrary  to  the  way  in  which 
matters  were  evidently  tending,  disturbed  me  very 


262  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

much.  An  English  journal,  the  Morning  Chronicle^ 
spoke  of  the  Duke  as  'the  only  prince  able  to  unite 
public  opinion  in  France.'  " 

Under  these  circumstances  Louis  XVIII.  sum- 
moned the  Duke  of  Orleans  to  Ghent.  He  refused 
to  go.  He  wrote  to  Prince  de  Talleyrand :  "  It  is  re- 
ported and,  I  trust,  truly  reported,  that  the  King  has 
made  you  his  prime  minister.  If  this  is  the  case, 
I  trust  you  will  not  permit  anybody  to  summon  the 
first  Prince  of  the  blood  in  such  haste  and  without 
giving  the  slightest  indication  as  to  what  awaits 
him  or  what  he  is  expected  to  do.  It  is  better  for 
him  to  remain  in  retreat  if  he  is  wanted  only  to 
figure  in  a  procession  or  a  drawing-room."  It  could 
not  be  asserted  positively  that  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
exerted  an  influence  antagonistic  to  Louis  XVIII. , 
but  it  is  certain  that  at  London  he  did  not  share  in 
the  opinions  of  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  who  per- 
fectly represented  the  politics  of  the  court  of  Ghent. 

The  daughtei-s  of  two  sisters,  Queen  Marie  Antoi- 
nette and  Queen  Marie  Caroline,  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme  and  the  Duchess  of  Orleans,  grand- 
daughters of  the  great  Empress  Maria  Theresa,  were 
cousins-german.  They  were  equally  pious,  and  in 
1814  and  1815  had  entertained  for  each  other  in 
Paris  a  mutual  regard  founded  on  esteem  and  sym- 
pathy. The  two  Princesses  were  grieved  at  not 
finding  themselves  at  harmony  in  ideas  and  politics 
at  London.  One  of  the  objects  of  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme  in  her  mission  to  England  was  to  keep 


LONDON  253 

track  of  the  plans  which  the  Duke  of  Orleans  was 
vaguely  accused  of  laying  while  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  British  government.  She  w£is  called  to 
Ghent  towards  the  end  of  May,  and  eagerly  re- 
sponded to  the  appeal.  Louis  XVIII.  wished  to 
thank  her  for  and  congratulate  her  upon  her  fine 
conduct  at  Bordeaux  and  her  attitude  in  London. 


XXIII 


GHENT 


THE  Duchess  of  Angouleme  was  very  well 
received  at  Ghent.  Some  days  before  her  arri- 
val she  was  mentioned  in  some  dithyrambs  by  M.  de 
Chateaubriand,  who  in  his  capacity  as  Minister  of 
the  Interior,  made  on  the  12th  of  May  a  report  to  the 
King  on  the  condition  of  France,  in  which  he  spoke 
of  the  courage  of  the  Princess:  "What  shall  I  say 
of  the  defence  of  Bordeaux  by  Madame?  No;  they 
were  no  longer  Frenchmen  —  those  men  who  could 
find  it  in  their  hearts  to  turn  their  arms  against  the 
daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  What!  is  it  the  orphan 
of  the  Temple,  is  it  she  who  has  suffered  so  much 
by  us  and  because  of  us,  she  to  whom  we  can  never 
offer  sufficient  atonement,  love,  and  respect,  —  is  it 
she  whom  we  have  just  now  driven  from  her 
native  land  with  cannon!  And  to  install  in  her 
stead  the  murderer  of  the  Duke  of  Enghien,  the 
tyrant  of  France,  and  the  devastator  of  Europe! 
Bullets  have  hissed  around  a  woman,  and  that 
woman  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  If  she  returns 
to  France,  the  decrees  against  the  Bourbons  will  be 
applied  to  her ;  in  other  words,  she  will  mount  the 
264 


GHENT  255 

scaffold,  as  her  father  and  mother  did.  Amid  her 
new  perils  she  is  the  same  as  she  showed  herself  to 
be  in  her  youth,  amid  assassins  and  executioners.  A 
true  daughter  of  France,  the  descendant  of  Henri 
IV.  and  Maria  Theresa,  reared  among  troubles  and 
tears,  tested  by  prison,  persecution,  and  danger,  what 
reason  has  she  not  to  hold  life  in  contempt!  " 

The  literary  minister  was  not  less  eloquent  over 
the  Princess's  husband.  "The  heroic  enterprise  of 
Monseigneur  the  Duke  of  Angouleme,"  he  adds, 
"takes  rank  among  the  most  illustrious  deeds  of 
arms  in  our  history.  Wisdom  and  boldness  in  plan 
and  courage  in  execution  —  all  was  there.  How 
many  misfortunes  Avould  Monseigneur  the  Duke  of 
Angouleme  have  averted  from  our  country  if  he 
could  have  got  as  far  as  Lyons!  One  of  the  rebel 
soldiers  who  saw  this  Prince  under  fire,  said  in 
admiration  of  his  valor:  'One  half-hour  more,  and 
we  would  have  cried:  "Long  live  the  King!  "  '  " 

Notwithstanding  this  somewhat  declamatory  flat- 
tery, the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  was  in  great  dis- 
tress. The  events  that  were  taking  place  about  her 
did  not  raise  her  spirits.  Louis  XVIIL  had  been 
unable  to  remain  in  the  north  of  France,  and  since 
the  end  of  March  had  been  a  refugee  at  Ghent,  a 
residence  assigned  to  him  by  the  King  of  the  Low 
Countries.  This  place  became  the  seat  of  a  phantom 
government,  a  gathering  place  for  SmigrSs^  a  new 
Coblentz,  but  not  so  pleasant  as  the  old  one.  Louis 
XVIIL,  who  would  always  have  looked  upon  him- 


256  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

self  as  King,  even  in  a  barn  or  a  stable,  was  as  calm 
and  majestic  in  the  little  Belgian  city  as  in  the  cap- 
ital of  France.  The  sovereign,  who  seemed  like  a 
monarch  summering  in  the  country,  bore  his  troubles 
like  a  prince  habituated  to  exile.  Every  day  after 
dinner  he  went  out  in  a  coach-and-six,  with  his  first 
gentleman  of  the  bedchamber  and  his  guards,  merely 
to  drive  about  Ghent.  If  he  met  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  on  his  way,  he  gave  him  a  condescend- 
ing nod  as  he  passed.  He  did  not  alter  his  habits 
in  the  least,  and  etiquette  at  Ghent  was  the  same  as 
at  the  Tuileries. 

M.  Guizot,  who  spent  several  days  at  this  court 
in  exile,  said  of  it:  "Two  things  remain  strongly 
impressed  on  my  memory, — the  powerlessness  and 
the  dignity  of  the  King.  In  the  attitude  and  look 
of  that  old  man,  motionless  and  confined  to  his 
chair,  there  was  a  proud  serenity  in  the  midst  of  his 
feebleness,  a  tranquil  confidence  in  the  power  of 
his  name  and  the  justice  of  his  cause,  that  struck 
and  touched  me.  .  .  .  He  gave  me  the  impression  of 
a  rational,  liberal-minded  man,  elegantly  superficial, 
courteous  to  everybody  and  careful  about  appear- 
ances, not  over-occupied  in  probing  to  the  bottom  of 
things,  and  about  equally  incapable  of  the  mistakes 
that  lose  and  those  that  secure  the  future  of  royal 
houses." 

There  was  the  semblance  of  a  ministry  in  which 
were  Chancellor  Dambray  as  Minister  of  Justice; 
General   Clarke,    Duke   of    Feltre,    as   Minister  of 


GHENT  267 

War;  Baron  Louis  as  Minister  of  Finance;  Count 
Beugnot,  Minister  of  the  Navy;  Count  Blacas, 
director  of  the  King's  household;  and  in  the 
absence  of  Prince  de  Talleyrand,  who  was  still  at 
Vienna,  Count  de  Jaucourt  acted  as  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs.  Twice  a  week  at  Ghent  the  official 
journal  of  royalty  in  exile  was  published.  But  this 
phantom  of  government  could  not  conceal  the  mel- 
ancholy truth  that  the  Bourbons  would  be  unable  to 
return  to  France  without  foreign  aid. 

The  habitual  quiet  of  the  city  of  Ghent  was  already 
disturbed  by  the  noise  of  military  preparations. 
English  and  Belgian  recruits  were  drilled  on  the 
squares  and  streets.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  came 
from  time  to  time  to  review  the  troops.  "  Cannon- 
eers, contractors,  and  dragoons,"  says  Chateau- 
briand, "brought  in  trains  of  artillery,  droves  of 
beeves,  and  steeds  pawing  the  air,  throwing  their 
riders  or  leaving  them  hanging  by  the  saddle  girths ; 
vivandi^res  came  with  sacks  and  children,  carrying 
their  husbands'  guns.  All  this  went  on,  without 
anybody  knowing  wh}',  or  taking  the  slightest 
interest  in  it,  at  the  great  rendezvous  of  destruction 
that  Bonaparte  had  prepared  for  them.  As  to  us 
^migrSs,  we  grew  like  the  women  of  the  city  of 
Charles  V.,  who,  seated  at  windows,  watched  by 
means  of  little  inclined  mirrors  the  soldiers  who 
passed  by  in  the  street." 

Some  French  troops  were  under  arms  at  the  camp 
of  Alost,  very  near  Ghent.     They  were  under  the 


258  THE  DUCHESS  OF  AN  GOV L  KM E 

command  of  General  Maison.  It  appears  that  at  one 
time  there  had  been  some  idea  of  having  them  join  in 
the  military  operations  which  the  Allies  were  prepar- 
ing against  France,  but  fortunately  this  project  was 
soon  abandoned.  General  Maison  issued  an  order 
of  the  day  to  the  effect  that  the  soldiers  who  had 
arrived  or  should  thereafter  arrive  with  legiti- 
mist flags,  should  form  a  reserve  corps,  as  the  King 
did  not  wish  to  see  them  shedding  the  blood  of 
their  brothers.  But  they  were  to  have  the  honor 
of  bringing  their  sovereign  back  to  his  capital.  On 
the  plain  of  Walden,  near  Alost,  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme  assisted  at  a  review  of  two  or  three 
thousand  French  body-guards,  volunteers,  and  stu- 
dents :  "  Ah ! "  said  she,  "  I  feel  as  if  I  were  in  a 
small  France." 

What  would  these  two  or  three  thousand  French- 
men have  been  able  to  do  if  foreigners  had  not  taken 
into  their  own  hands  the  task  of  conquering  Bona- 
parte? This  is  the  heavy  thought  that  weighs  on  the 
patriotic  heart  of  the  Princess  like  humiliation,  not  to 
say  remorse.  She  suffers  equally  because  of  the  dis- 
sensions, intrigues,  and  pitiful  jealousies,  of  which  the 
little  court  at  Ghent  is  the  theatre.  Her  frank  and 
lofty  spirit  groans  when  she  sees  the  way  in  which 
people  are  abandoning  her  for  Napoleon.  In  the 
words  of  Chateaubriand :  "  That  epoch  when  frank- 
ness is  everywhere  lacking  is  like  a  weight  on  the 
heart.  Everybody  threw  out  a  profession  of  faith 
like  a  foot  bridge  on  which  to  cross  the  difficulty 


GHENT  259 

of  the  day,  content  to  change  his  direction  the  diffi- 
culty once  over.  Infancy  alone  was  sincere,  for  it 
was  in  its  cradle.  Bonaparte  solemnly  announces 
that  he  renounces  the  crown ;  he  departs  and  comes 
back  again  within  nine  months.  Benjamin  Con- 
stant prints  his  energetic  protest  against  the  tyrant, 
and  in  twenty-four  hours  he  recants.  Marshal  Soult 
stirs  up  the  troops  against  their  former  captain,  and, 
after  a  few  days  in  Napoleon's  cabinet  at  the  Tui- 
leries,  he  laughs  at  the  pomposity  of  his  proclama- 
tion and  becomes  a  major-general  at  Waterloo; 
Mai-shal  Ney  kisses  the  King's  hands,  vows  to  bring 
Bonaparte  to  Paris  in  an  iron  cage,  and  then  turns 
his  entire  command  over  to  him.  Alas  !  And  how 
stand  matters  with  the  King  of  France  ?  He  declares 
that  at  the  age  of  sixty  he  can  die  in  no  better  way 
than  in  defence  of  his  people,  —  and  then  he  takes 
flight  for  Ghent.  At  this  impossibility  of  truth  in 
sentiments,  and  at  this  discord  between  words  and 
actions,  one  feels  disgust  for  the  human  race."  In 
the  words  of  the  author  of  the  GSnie  du  Christi- 
anisme^  the  Duchess  of  Angoul^me  might  have  been 
tempted  to  say :  "  At  Ghent  I  remained  as  far  as 
possible  unengaged  in  intrigues,  which  were  repug- 
nant to  my  nature  and  contemptible  in  my  eyes, 
because  I  perceived  under  our  own  ruin,  the  ruin 
of  society.  My  refuge  from  idle  and  credulous 
people  was  the  enclosure  of  the  B^guinage.  I  used 
to  go  to  that  little  universe  of  women,  veiled  or 
wearing  gimp-edged  caps,  and  consecrated  to  various 


260  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

Christian  works,  —  a  region  of  calm  that  lay,  like  an 
oasis  in  a  desert,  in  the  track  of  tempests." 

The  Princess  remained  only  a  few  days  at  Ghent. 
She  left  on  the  4th  of  June,  charged  with  an  impor- 
tant mission  to  London.  Its  chief  object  was  to 
negotiate  with  the  English  government  for  the  send- 
ing of  such  arms  and  munitions  as  the  western  and 
southern  provinces  might  require.  If  a  favorable 
opportunity  offered,  the  Princess  was  to  go  in  per- 
son to  the  southern  French  coasts.  While  at  Lon- 
don she  learned  the  result  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo 
and  the  second  Restoration.  She  remained  some 
time  longer  in  England,  and  did  not  go  to  Paris 
till  the  27th  of  July,  1815;  that  is  to  say,  not 
till  nineteen  days  after  the  return  of  her  uncle, 
Louis  XVIII. 

She  left  London  with  much  more  regret  than 
she  had  left  it  fifteen  months  previously.  1815  was 
more  gloomy  than  1814.  The  second  Restoration 
opened  under  circumstances  much  more  unfavorable 
than  those  of  the  first.  Political  animosities  reached 
an  enormous  pitch,  and  the  foreign  yoke  pressed 
on  the  necks  of  the  conquered  in  a  way  that,  in 
some  respects,  was  far  more  galling  than  it  had 
been  in  the  preceding  year.  In  1814,  the  Duchess 
of  Angouleme  was  under  illusions  that  no  longer 
existed  in  1815.  She  understood  that  her  return 
to  France  had  been  possible  only  because  the  great 
nation  had  passed  under  the  yoke.  At  that  time 
party  spirit  was  silent  in  the  noble  woman's  heart. 


GHENT  261 

The  termination  of  her  exile  seemed  to  her  not  less 
grievous  than  its  beginning.  Far  from  being  joyous 
and  elated  with  success,  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI. 
said  to  herself :  "  Of  what  good  is  it  to  live  in  the 
palace  of  the  Tuileries,  if  my  country  is  unhappy?" 
In  her  fate  all  was  doomed  to  be  melancholy  and 
affliction. 


PART  SECOND 

THE  SECOND   RESTORATION 

I 

LOins  xvrii.'s  return 

THE  second  Restoration  had  just  begun.  People 
were  far  from  being  in  the  tender  mood  of  the 
preceding  year,  —  far  from  those  royalist  idylls  and 
eclogues  with  which  the  return  of  the  Bourbons  was 
welcomed  in  1814.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  par- 
tisans of  the  egoistic  sort  that  can  be  happy  even 
among  ruins  if  so  be  they  may  rebuild  their  fortunes 
there,  all  Frenchmen  were  plunged  in  gloom.  As 
the  imperialists  suffered  because  of  Waterloo,  so  the 
royalists  groaned  at  seeing  in  the  King's  councils  a 
regicide  who  had  been  Bonaparte's  minister  of  police 
during  the  Hundred  Days.  Nowhere  could  good 
reason  for  exultation  be  found. 

Count  Beugnot  thus  expresses  himself  in  his 
Memoirs :  "  It  is  not  without  compassion  that  I 
read  and  hear  it  said  on  all  sides  that  twice  in  suc- 

262 


LOUIS  xvin:s  return  263 

cession,  namely  in  1814  and  in  1815,  the  House  of 
Bourbon  has  been  restored  to  us  by  foreigners.  On 
the  first  occasion  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  were  not 
opposed  to  the  Restoration,  but  they  did  not  set  it  on 
foot,  and,  far  from  wishing  it,  they  rather  had  doubts 
of  its  success.  The  second  time,  namely  in  1815, 
the  King  left  the  city  of  Ghent  without  consulting 
them,  and  went  straight  to  Paris  and  entered  it,  to 
the  great  astonishment  of  the  foreign  troops  who 
took  possession  of  the  capital  and  its  neighborhood, 
and  understood  very  well  how  to  profit  from  the 
recollection  of  their  stupid  indulgence  during  the 
foregoing  year."  The  assertion  of  Count  Beugnot 
is,  perhaps,  correct.  Perhaps  it  is  true  that  royalty 
was  not  brought  back  by  foreigners.  But  what  is  at 
least  as  true  is,  that  without  the  foreigners  there 
would  have  been  no  Restoration  whatever.  It  was 
the  very  coincidence  between  the  defeat  of  the 
French  and  the  return  of  the  Bourbons  that  so 
fatally  handicapped  a  government  that  would,  under 
so  many  other  circumstances  have  been  respected, 
and  reparative.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  Duch- 
ess of  Angouleme  wished  so  much  that  Napoleon 
should  be  repulsed  by  the  French  themselves  instead 
of  succumbing  under  the  blows  of  foreign  armies. 

Chateaubriand  says :  "  The  whole  outlook  was 
threatening  for  the  second  Restoration.  Bonaparte 
came  back  at  the  head  of  four  hundred  Frenchmen. 
Louis  XVIII.  returned  behind  four  hundred  thou- 
sand foreigners ;    he  went  from  the  sea  of  blood  at 


264  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

Waterloo  to  Saint-Denis,  as  if  going  to  his  grave.  .  .  . 
At  the  close  of  the  Empire,  Bonaparte  went  to  Mal- 
maison,  whereas,  when  the  monarchy  is  beginning, 
we  leave  Ghent.  Pozzo,  who  knew  how  little  weight 
legitimacy  had  in  high  places,  hastened  to  write 
Louis  XVIII.  a  letter,  urging  him  to  leave  and  come 
quickly  if  he  wished  to  be  King  before  the  place  was 
taken ;  it  is  to  this  letter  that  Louis  XVIII.  owed  his 
crown  in  1815." 

Before  returning  to  his  capital,  the  King  paid  a 
brief  visit  to  Saint-Denis,  where  he  lodged  in  the 
abbey  buildings.  Chateaubriand  says  that  it  was 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  the  little  girls  whose 
fathers  had  belonged  to  the  Legion  of  Honor  could 
be  kept  from  crying,  "  Long  live  Napoleon ! "  The 
author  of  the  GSnie  du  Christianisme  entered  the 
church  at  the  side.  Part  of  a  wall  in  the  cloister 
had  fallen,  and  the  ancient  abbey  was  lighted  by  a 
single  lamp.  "  I  prayed,"  he  adds,  "  at  the  entrance 
to  the  vault  into  which  I  had  seen  Louis  XVI.  low- 
ered. I  was  filled  with  misgivings  about  the  future, 
and  I  do  not  think  that  my  heart  was  ever  stirred  with 
a  profounder  or  a  more  sacred  religious  grief.  Then 
I  rejoined  His  Majesty.  On  being  shown  into  one 
of  the  chambers  preceding  that  of  the  King,  I  found 
nobody  present.  Seated  in  a  corner  I  waited.  Sud- 
denly a  door  opened.  Into  the  stillness  of  the  cham- 
ber came  vice  leaning  on  the  arm  of  crime,  M.  de 
Talleyrand  supported  by  M.  Fouch^ ;  the  infernal 
apparition    passed    slowly    before    me,   entered    the 


LOUIS  XVIIVS  RETURN  265 

King's  apartment,  and  disappeared.  Fouch^  came 
to  swear  fealty  and  homage  to  his  lord ;  the  feal 
regicide  knelt  before  the  King  and  placed  the  hands 
that  caused  the  head  of  Louis  XVI.  to  fall  between 
those  of  the  brother  of  the  martyred  King ;  the  apos- 
tate bishop  administered  the  oath." 

In  his  Souvenirs  the  late  Duke  of  Broglie  expresses 
himself  not  less  bitterly :  "  The  worthy  rival  of  Bar- 
rere,  Fouch^,  the  ex-Oratorian  (of  Nantes),  otherwise 
known  as  His  Excellency  the  Duke  of  Otranto,  was, 
like  Barrere,  a  disgusting  monster,  but  still  more 
bloody,  malicious,  and  filthy  than  Barrere  himself  — 
if  that  were  possible  —  and  committed  his  last  trea- 
son, which  was  certainly  one  of  the  least  of  his  sins, 
by  taking  his  oath  between  the  hands  of  the  son  of 
Saint-Louis  and  Louis  XVI. 's  brother,  amid  the 
applause  of  silly  royalists.  His  patron  in  this  ex- 
ploit was  the  former  bishop  of  Autun,  —  the  man 
who  in  succession  doffed  his  frock  on  the  downfall  of 
the  monarchy,  his  toga  at  the  overthrow  of  the  Direc- 
tory, and  his  coronet  of  B^nevent  at  the  close  of  the 
Empire,  had  kindly  condescended  to  become  the 
Prince  de  Talleyrand,  Prime  Minister  of  this  most 
Christian  King. 

"  How  did  this  most  Christian  King  look  between 
these  two  unfrocked  priests?  I  have  not  the  slight- 
est idea.  I  have  heard  that  on  seeing  them  take 
carriage  together,  Pozzo  di  Borgo  said  smilingly  to 
his  neighbor :  '  I  would  much  like  to  hear  what  those 
lambs  are  saying.' " 


266  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

Louis  XVIII.  was  deeply  impressed  by  a  situa- 
tion so  painful  to  the  dignity  of  his  person  and  the 
majesty  of  his  throne.  He  did  not  desire  that  his 
return  should  be  like  a  triumph,  and  that  people 
should  have  it  in  their  power  to  say  that  the  King  of 
France  regarded  Waterloo  as  a  royal  victory.  When 
he  re-entered  Paris  at  three  o'clock  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  8th  of  July,  1815,  his  niece  was  not  in  the  car- 
riage with  him  as  on  the  3d  of  May,  1814.  It  is  possi- 
ble that  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  may  not  have 
desired  to  be  seen  associated  with  a  policy  the  result 
of  which  was  the  selection,  as  a  king's  minister,  of  a 
man  who  had  voted  for  the  death  of  her  father.  We 
incline  to  the  belief  that  this  choice,  which  the  aus- 
tere Princess  looked  upon  as  humiliating,  was  one 
cause  of  her  decision  to  put  off  for  some  days  her 
return  to  Paris. 

British  and  Prussian  troops  bivouacked  with  their 
wagons  and  caissons  in  the  public  gardens  and 
squares,  and  before  the  porch  of  Notre-Dame  ;  loaded 
cannons  were  seen  at  the  extremities  of  the  bridges. 
An  effort  was  made,  through  fear  of  revolutionary 
manifestations,  to  persuade  the  King  that  he  ought 
to  enter  not  by  the  populous  quarter  of  the  Faubourg 
Saint-Denis,  but  by  the  Clichy  gate  or  the  Champs- 
Elys^es.  He  refused  to  take  this  prudent  advice, 
and  the  event  showed  him  to  be  right,  since  no  hos- 
tile demonstration  took  place  during  his  entrance. 
He  was  not,  as  on  the  3d  of  May,  1814,  in  an  open 
coach,   but  in   a   closed  carriage.      The    Count   of 


LOUIS  XVlli:S  RETURN  267 


Artois  and  the  Duke  of  Berry,  each  in  the  saddle, 
rode,  one  at  the  right  and  the  other  at  the  left  of 
the  carriage.  Then  followed  a  less  numerous  group  of 
marshals  and  generals,  among  whom  were  Marshals 
Macdonald,  Victor,  Oudinot,  Marmont,  Clarke,  Gou- 
vion  Saint-Cyr,  and  Generals  Maison  and  Dessoles. 
The  escort  was  made  up  of  body-guards,  musketeers, 
light-horse,  gendarmes  of  the  royal  household,  mounted 
grenadiers,  the  Hundred  Switzers,  and  some  royal 
volunteers.  No  regiment  was  present  from  the  regu- 
lar army.  The  national  guard  formed  the  double  line. 
The  King  was  received  at  the  barrier  Saint-Denis 
by  the  City  Council.  Count  de  Chabrol,  prefect  of 
the  Seine  till  the  20th  of  March,  and  who  had  been 
reinstated  in  his  office,  delivered  an  address  in 
which  he  said :  "  A  hundred  days  have  passed  since 
that  on  which  Your  Majesty,  forced  to  stifle  your 
dearest  affections,  left  your  capital  amid  tears  and 
public  consternation."  This  was  the  first  use  of 
the  expression  "  Hundred  Days,"  which  was  destined 
to  be  adopted  by  history  to  designate  the  second 
reign  of  Napoleon. 

Louis  XVHI.  answered:  "I  left  Paris  only  with 
liveliest  sorrow  and  the  deepest  emotion.  Evidences 
reached  me  of  the  attachment  of  my  good  city.  I 
return  with  deep  affection  ;  I  foresaw  the  ills  with 
which  it  was  threatened ;  I  wish  to  prevent  and 
cure  them."  The  procession  moved  forward  and 
reached  the  Tuileries  by  way  of  the  Faubourg  Saint- 
Denis  and  the  boulevards. 


268  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL&ME 

In  the  words  of  Baron  de  Vitrolles,  the  King  was 
received  by  an  immense  concourse  of  people  and 
with  univei-sal  satisfaction.  If  the  procession  of 
the  foregoing  year  had  seemed  less  enthusiastic,  it 
was  because  the  appearance  of  the  sovereign  was 
less  expected.  Louis  XVIII.  was  perfectly  satisfied 
with  it  and  did  not  see  the  coming  cloud.  "  On  the 
same  evening,"'  adds  M.  de  Vitrolles,  "I  had  an  audi- 
ence with  Sauvo,  the  intelligent,  and  even  imper- 
turbably  intelligent,  editor-in-chief  of  the  Moniteur. 
But  this  time  the  changes  had  worn  out  his  endur- 
ance to  such  a  degree  that  it  had  become  trans- 
formed into  pleasantry.  He  came,  very  deferential 
to  me,  but  revolted  by  the  recantations  he  had  been 
obliged  to  make  without  having  an  opportunity 
to  pass  by  easy  stages  from  one  fashion  to  another. 
He  told  me  that  he  could  no  longer  hold  his  posi- 
tion, and  asked  that  he  should  be  retired.  I  raised 
him  in  his  own  eyes,  and  encouraged  him  b}'  saying 
that  his  work  was  necessarily  subject  to  the  rapid 
course  of  events,  and  that,  in  submitting  to  official 
requirements,  his  personality  would  be  left  intact. 
He  picked  up  again  the  chain  and  harness,  and 
wore  them  for  many  yeare  more." 

On  the  next  morning  the  Moniteur  was  exceed- 
ingly spirited.  It  reported  in  the  same  old  style 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  populace,  the  cheers,  the 
refrain  of  Henri  IV. ;  the  whole  city  spontaneously 
illuminated,  the  union  of  all  parties  in  sentiments 
that  thereafter  were  to  be  unalterable ;  the  devotion 


LOUIS  XVIIVS  RETURN  269 

and  fidelity  to  the  monarch,  the  united  vows  of  all, 
and  all  the  efforts  to  restore  liberty  to  France  under 
a  paternal  government,  and  the  happiness  that  would 
result  from  a  peace  that  all  Europe  longed  for. 

Notwithstanding  all  this  verbiage,  Louis  XVIII. 
was  ill  at  ease.  How  could  he  forget  that  an  Eng- 
lish army  was  encamped  in  the  Bois-de-Boulogne,  at 
La  Vallette,  and  the  Chapelle-Saint-Denis,  and  that 
Paris  was  at  the  mercy  of  Prussians?  Did  he 
not  know  that  an  order  of  the  day  signed  by  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  and  Prince  Bliicher  had  make 
General  Muffling,  a  Prussian,  governor  of  the  capi- 
tal by  placing  the  national  guards  and  the  police 
under  his  authority  ?  Could  he  forget  that  the 
disappointment  occasioned  by  his  return  to  the  Tui- 
leries  was  so  great  at  General  Bliicher's  headquarters, 
that  it  had  been  decided  to  pay  no  attention  to  his 
royal  person  and  to  act  as  if  he  were  still  at  Ghent? 
When  he  looked  from  the  palace  windows,  what 
did  he  see?  Cannon  planted  at  the  Pont  Royal, 
and  directed  even  against  the  Tuileries,  while  can- 
noneers stood  ready  to  touch  them  off;  Prussian 
soldiers  washing:  their  soiled  linen  and  coats  in  the 
courtyard  of  the  ch§,teau,  and  making  the  finials  of 
the  fences  do  duty  for  drying-rooms.  "  You  yourself 
have  seen  it,"  said  the  King  to  Count  Beugnot. 
"  They  have  bivouacked  in  my  courtyard  of  the 
Tuileries  and  planted  cannon  on  the  Pont  Royal. 
What  do  they  mean  ?  I  can  never  bring  myself  to 
believe  that  the  sovereigns  have  authorized  any  such 


270  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

proceedings."  After  these  words  he  leaned  his  el- 
bows  on  a  chest  of  drawers  and  buried  his  face  in  his 
hands.  When  recalling  these  melancholy  memories, 
M.  Beugnot  exclaimed :  "  Old  Brennus  was  right ! 
Vce  Victis!''^  And  in  the  present  instant  no  dis- 
tinction of  the  parties  was  made;  for  in  the  eyes 
of  the  foreigners  every  Frenchman,  beginning  with 
the  King,  was  a  conquered  man. 

Nevertheless,  since  the  allied  sovereigns  had  come 
to  Paris,  dissatisfied  this  time  at  not  entering  it 
before  the  King  of  France,  it  was  necessary  to  re- 
ceive them  with  extreme  courtesy.  The  Moniteur 
said:  "Paris,  July  11,  1815.  —  Their  Royal  and 
Imperial  Majesties,  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  the  Em- 
peror of  Austria,  and  King  of  Prussia,  arrived  at 
Paris  yesterday  evening.  An  hour  after  the  arrival 
of  Their  Majesties,  the  King  visited  them.  To-day 
the  three  monarchs  went  to  the  Tuileries,  and,  after 
an  interview  with  His  Majesty,  they  did  Monsieur 
and  Monseigneur  the  Duke  of  Berry,  the  honor  of 
returning  the  visit  which  Their  Highnesses  had  paid 
to  Their  Imperial  and  Royal  Majesties.  The  capi- 
tal heard  with  the  most  lively  satisfaction  of  the 
presence  of  these  august  sovereigns,  for  which  all 
had  prayed.  Paris  has  not  forgotten  what  in  1814 
it  owed  to  the  powerful  protection  and  magnanimous 
accord  that  existed  among  them  and  the  outcome 
of  which  was  the  happy  Restoration.  The  capital 
earnestly  hopes  that  the  coming  together  of  these 
monarchs,  in  the  existing  state  of  affairs,  will  soon 


LOUIS  XVIirS  RETURN  271 

lay  the  foundation  of  an  unalterable  peace,  and  per- 
petually strengthen  the  bands  which  should  unite 
France  with  Europe  under  a  stable  and  legitimate 
government,  to  the  end  that  Europe  may  at  last 
see  the  accomplishment  of  the  great  purpose  for 
which  she  took  up  arms." 

A  nation  is  to  be  pitied  when  it  has  to  use  such 
language  to  its  conquerors.  Beyond  question  Louis 
XVIII.  helped  to  soften  the  rigor  of  the  conditions 
imposed  on  his  subjects,  and,  had  he  not  been  in  the 
Tuileries,  France  would  have  been  still  more  unfor- 
tunate. But  he  had  too  much  good  sense  not  to 
understand  all  that  the  former  conquerors  of  Europe 
were  to  be  forced  to  endure. 

The  royalist  journals  praised  the  King  beyond 
measure.  In  reporting  the  fact  that  he  had  shown 
himself  at  one  of  the  windows  of  the  Tuileries  to 
the  people  assembled  in  the  garden,  the  Journal  des 
DShats  said :  "  If  it  were  possible  to  compare  heaven 
and  hell  with  each  other,  and  if  such  a  comparison 
were  not  in  its  very  self  an  odious  blasphemy,  who 
could  remember  without  a  chill  of  horror,  that  at 
the  same  place  where  the  celestial  face  of  our  father 
was  then  beaming  with  love  for  his  people  and  with 
all  the  sincerity  of  a  virtue  not  less  than  sublime, 
but  lately  had  been  seen,  half-concealed  behind  his 
hateful  satellites,  that  leaden-hued  and  tiger-eyed 
Corsican  who  never  smiled  save  when  he  looked  on 
carnage."  The  same  journal — once  the  Journal 
de   V Empire  —  said    of    the   vanquished    Napoleon ; 


272  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

"  Bonaparte,  whom  but  lately  so  many  arms  encir> 
cled,  could  not  to-day  find  the  hand  even  of  a  slave 
to  do  him  the  service  of  killing  him.  Baser  than  the 
effeminate  Otho,  more  evil-starred  than  Nero,  he 
could  not  yield  himself  to  death,  and  is  not  now  cer- 
tain of  receiving  even  that  poor  boon.  All  those 
kings,  all  those  princes  like  himself,  whom  we  have 
seen  figure  with  him  in  costumes  and  poses  more  or 
less  theatrical  and  grotesque,  have  scattered  like  a 
troop  of  masqueraders  on  the  day  after  the  Carnival, 
throwing  aside  their  crowns,  their  sceptres,  and  their 
dominoes." 

The  way  in  which  the  French  recanted  made  for- 
eigners smile.  What  a  revenge  they  had  for  the 
occupation  of  their  capitals,  Berlin,  Madrid,  Naples, 
Vienna,  Moscow !  How  they  gloried  in  the  sight  of 
that  long-threatening  nation  now  bleeding  and  humil- 
iated! Louis  XVIII.  owed  his  throne  entirely  to 
the  victorious  Allies  and  could  not  avoid  thinking 
with  regret  of  that  glorious  epoch  when  Louis  XIV. 
grappled  with  combined  Europe.  He  was  proud 
of  his  high  lineage,  and  it  pained  him  to  be  depen- 
dent on  sovereigns  whose  houses  were  of  more  recent 
origin  than  his  own. 

This  justice,  also,  should  be  done  to  Louis 
XVIII.  He  wished  to  moderate  the  passions  of 
the  ultra-royalists,  who  had  completely  forgotten  the 
clemency  shown  in  the  words  of  Louis  XVI.'s  will. 
Blinded  by  hatred  and  party  spirit,  these  reaction- 
aries longed  to  wreak  vengeance  on  the  men  who 


LOUIS  XVIIVS  RETURN  273 

had  terrorized  them.  Forgetting  that  they  them- 
selves were  French,  they  greatly  preferred  English- 
men, Russians,  and  Prussians  to  Bonapartists.  The 
King  had  wisely  reflected  on  the  battle-field  where 
so  many  Frenchmen  met  heroic  deaths  and,  when 
afterwards,  he  went  to  Notre  Dame  he  forbade  the 
singing  of  the  Te  Deum.  But,  instead  of  following 
this  noble  example,  many  people  exulted  blatantly 
while  the  country  mourned.  The  ministry,  whom 
the  royalists  distrusted,  did  not  dare  to  repress  this 
effervescence  of  glee.  Every  evening  crowds  of 
people  stationed  themselves  under  the  King's  win- 
dows at  the  Tuileries,  and  struck  up  songs  of  vic- 
tory and  joy.  All  sorts  and  conditions  of  women 
danced  with  men  whom  they  did  not  know,  and  even 
with  the  foreign  soldiers.  If  anybody  dared  to 
object  to  these  demonstrations,  which  were  certainly 
exceedingly  strange,  he  rendered  himself  liable  to 
rough  usage.  The  dancing,  which  disturbed  the 
sleep  of  Louis  XVIII.,  lasted  into  the  night,  and 
it  was  hard  to  clear  the  garden  even  after  eleven 
o'clock.  The  theatres  became  hotbeds  of  agitation 
and  disorder.  Actors  who  had  shown  Bonapartist 
tendencies  during  the  Hundred  Days  were  insulted 
on  the  stage.  Fleury  and  Mademoiselle  Mars  were 
jeered  at  and  forced  to  cry :  "  Long  live  the  King !  " 
before  being  permitted  to  go  on  with  their  parts. 
France  was  divided  against  itself  at  a  time  when  the 
invading  armies  numbered  one  million  two  hundred 
thousand  men,  without  counting  two  hundred  and 


274  THE  BUCnEHS   OF  ANGOULEME 

fifty  thousand  who  were  stationed  on  the  opposite 
banks  of  the  Rhine.  Some  Frenchmen  looked  on 
Waterloo  as  a  victory  for  the  French,  and  others 
considered  it  a  defeat.  Already  were  seen  the  be- 
ginnings of  an  obstinate  struggle  between  the  two 
rival  nations  that  one  and  the  same  country  con- 
tained. Such  was  the  lamentable  spectacle  offered 
to  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  when  she  came  to  the 
Tuileries.  We  have  said  that  the  daughter  of  Louis 
XVI.  would  nevermore  know  joy  on  earth.  At  the 
very  time  when,  as  a  princess,  she  should  have  been 
happy,  she,  as  a  Frenchwoman,  was  most  deeply 
wounded  in  her  patriotism  and  her  pride. 


n 


THE  RETURN  OF  THE  DUCHESS 

THE  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  arrived  at  Paris  on 
the  27th  of  July,  1815,  escorted  by  the  Duke  of 
Berry  and  a  number  of  generals.  After  receiving 
the  respects  of  the  court,  she  showed  herself  at  one 
of  the  windows  of  the  Tuileries  and  was  heartily 
applauded  by  the  crowd.  On  the  1st  of  August,  the 
Journal  des  DSbats  spoke  as  follows :  "  Yesterday 
the  people  of  Paris  gave  Madame  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme  the  same  evidences  of  their  devotion, 
respect,  and  heartfelt  joy,  that  they  had  given  the 
King  five  days  before.  An  innumerable  multitude 
went  to  the  Tuileries  and  gathered  under  the  win- 
dows of  the  palace.  There,  to  cries  of  '  Long  live 
the  King,'  '  Long  live  the  Bourbons ! '  and  '  Long  live 
the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,'  were  united  transports  of 
admiration  for  the  Antigone  of  Courland,  the  heroine 
of  Bordeaux,  the  woman  strong  and  great  in  all 
kinds  of  adversity.  Then  followed  all  varieties  of 
dancing,  and  the  festivities  lasted  till  evening. 
Meantime  bands  of  young  people,  most  of  whom 
were  royal  volunteers  who  had  come  together  in  the 
morning,  paraded   the   boulevards   under   the   royal 

275 


276  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

ensign,  and  filled  the  air  with  shouts  of  joy  and  vic- 
tory. Some  evil-disposed  persons  who  tried  to 
lessen  the  effect  of  this  enthusiasm  by  getting  up  a 
counter-demonstration,  came  very  near  suffering  at 
the  hands  of  an  indignant  public." 

The  enthusiastic  flattery  lavished  upon  her  hardly 
moved  the  Princess  at  all,  for  she  continually  re- 
flected: "All  these  things  were  said  to  me  before 
the  Hundred  Days."  When  disaster  left  her  for  a 
time  some  rest,  she  recalled  her  past  exiles,  and  was 
filled  with  apprehensions  of  others  still  in  store  for 
her.  She  seldom  smiled.  In  the  palace  she  felt  as 
in  an  inn  which  she  soon  must  leave.  She  had  no 
illusions  about  either  men  or  things,  and  distrusted 
many  people.  And  in  this  she  was  right;  for  the 
ministers  apparently  most  devoted  to  Louis  XVIII. 
were  soon  to  become  the  most  obsequious  courtiers 
of  Louis-Philippe. 

The  Princess  thought  it  undignified  that  Talley- 
rand and  Fouch«^  should  be  in  the  ministry.  She 
was  obliged  to  keep  her  feelings  to  herself,  and 
suffered  on  account  of  the  compromises  that  royalty 
thought  it  necessary  to  make.  Thus  her  attitude 
was  constrained,  and  her  face,  which  was  almost 
always  sombre,  bore  painful  evidence  of  her  feelings. 

The  situation  was  dolorous  even  for  royalists.  All 
people  of  sense  and  probity  deplored  the  reactionary 
movements,  entitled  the  White  Terror,  which  had 
been  made  at  Nfmes,  Uzds,  Avignon,  and  Marseilles. 
The  straight-forward  and  upright  Duke  of  Angou- 


THE  RETURN   OF  THE  DUCHESS  277 

leme,  on  his  return  from  Spain,  had  remained  for  a 
time  in  the  south  of  France,  where  he  earnestly  tried 
to  establish  a  policy  of  moderation.  But  the  passions 
of  people  about  him  impeded  him  in  his  pacificatory 
labors.  His  intentions  were  misunderstood,  and  an 
attempt  was  made  to  get  him  to  abandon  the  service 
of  Louis  XVIII.  According  to  some  slanderers,  the 
Duke  aimed  at  nothing  short  of  separating  the  south 
from  the  kingdom  and  making  a  distinct  state  of  it. 
Later  on,  some  even  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  the 
appearance  of  white  and  green  cockades  was  the  first 
sign  of  the  projected  rebellion.  These  absurd  rumors 
even  reached  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  and  justly 
irritated  her. 

In  some  respects  the  ministerial  policy  met  with 
the  approbation  of  the  Princess.  She  looked  upon 
acts  of  severity  as  necessary,  but  it  seemed  more  than 
strange  to  her  that  the  list  of  proscribed  men  should 
be  drawn  up  and  signed  by  Fouch^,  who  had  been 
minister  of  the  imperial  police  during  the  Hundred 
Days.  The  list  of  the  24th  of  July  ordered  the  arrest 
and  production  before  the  councils  of  war  of  nineteen 
persons,  namely :  Ney,  Lab^doy^re,  the  elder  and 
younger  Lallemands,  Drouet  d'Erlon,  Lefebvre  Des- 
nouettes,  Ameil,  Brayer,  Gilly,  Mouton-Duvernet, 
Grouchy,  Clausel,  Laborde,  Debelle,  Bertrand, 
Drouet,  Cambronne,  Lavalette,  and  Rovigo.  Then 
followed  a  list  of  men  to  be  exiled,  including 
Marshal  Soult,  General  Exelmans,  the  Duke  of  Bas- 
sano,   Garnet,   General  Lamarque,   Count  Regnault 


278  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

de  Saint-Jean  d'Ang^ly,  Baron  Lelorgne  d'Ideville, 
and  others.  M.  de  Viel-Castel  says  in  his  Hutoire 
de  la  Restauration :  "As  to  the  terms  used  in  this 
order  to  designate  these  proscribed  men,  everything 
in  them  was  offensive.  There  was  a  studied  design 
to  treat  them  with  contempt.  Some,  like  Marshals 
Ney  and  Soult,  were  designated  merely  by  their 
family  names ;  others,  like  the  Dukes  of  Bassano  and 
Rovigo,  by  ostentatiously  omitting  their  titles ;  and 
sometimes  the  names  were  incorrectly  spelled.  In  a 
a  word,  information  as  to  the  personal  position  of  the 
proscribed  was  so  defective  that  M.  de  Lavalette, 
who  had  not  been  in  military  service  for  fifteen 
years,  was  among  those  who  were  produced  before 
the  councils  of  war.  Probably  never  before  was 
there  seen  in  a  similar  act  such  an  accumulation 
of  blunders,  confusions,  and  reckless  neglect  of 
equity  and  the  merest  decency.  It  seemed  as  if,  in 
drawing  up  that  order,  Fouch^  thought  that  he  was 
still  at  work  for  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety. 
.  .  .  From  one  end  of  it  to  the  other,  it  bore  the 
impress  of  the  truculent  levity  and  revolutionist 
ways  of  its  author." 

The  era  of  vengeance  was  inaugurated.  It  began 
with  the  execution  of  General  de  Lab^doy^re.  The 
Duchess  of  Angouleme,  who  thought  it  impossible 
to  secure  pardon  for  the  unfortunate  general,  with- 
drew without  regret  from  Paris,  where  residence 
at  the  Tuileries  —  that  vestibule  of  the  scaffold  to 
her  parents  —  had  become  ever-increasingly  painful. 


THE  RETURN   OF  THE  DUCHESS  279 

On  the  13th  of  August,  1815,  after  having  been 
present  at  the  votive  procession  of  Louis  XIII.  at 
Notre  Dame,  she  went  to  Bordeaux  by  way  of 
Versailles  and  Chartres.  She  reached  the  city  on 
the  19th,  having  rejoined  her  husband  on  the  road. 

The  royal  pair  had  a  magnificent  reception.  A 
small  and  very  choice  pavilion  which  had  been 
erected  on  the  shore  of  the  Gironde,  served  the 
Princess  as  a  resting-place  after  her  journey,  and 
there  she  was  visited  by  the  ladies  of  Bordeaux,  who 
gave  her  a  splendid  dress  in  exchange  for  which  thej 
asked  her  own,  to  be  divided  into  small  pieces  that 
should  be  kept  as  relics.  At  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  the  Duke  and  Duchess  arrived  at  the 
Bastide,  and  crossed  the  water  in  a  gondola  decor- 
ated with  flags,  amid  the  roar  of  artillery  from  all 
the  ships  in  the  roadstead,  the  ringing  of  bells,  and 
the  acclaims  of  the  vast  multitude  that  had  as- 
sembled on  the  quays  and  crowded  the  boats  with 
which  the  river  was  covered. 

All  the  houses  were  decorated  with  white  flags 
and  hung  with  verdure.  The  cortege  proceeded 
along  the  quay  as  far  as  the  gate  Chapeau-Rouge. 
At  the  head  of  the  procession  was  a  detachment  of 
the  legion  of  Maria  Theresa,  followed  by  a  number 
of  men  and  women  bearing  banners  on  which  were 
portraits  of  the  King,  the  Princes,  and  the  Duchess 
of  AngoulSme,  the  heroine  of  the  f^te.  Then  one 
saw  a  troop  of  children  dressed  in  Henri  IV.  cos- 
tume, and  maidens  in  white,   carrying  bouquets  of 


280  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

lilies.  After  these  was  the  carriage  so  impatiently 
expected.  Drawn  by  men,  it  came  slowly  along  in 
the  midst  of  enthusiastic  shouts,  and  was  followed 
by  the  Duke  of  Angouleme  on  horseback.  Having 
descended  the  Place  Dauphine  and  passed  through 
the  allies  d'Albret,  the  procession  entered  the  cha- 
teau grounds  through  the  larger  garden  gate.  It 
was  a  triumph. 

In  the  evening  the  Prince  and  Princess  went  to 
the  Grand  Th^S-tre,  where  the  HSritiers  Michaud, 
and  a  vaudeville  composed  for  the  occasion  by  ^ 
young  Bordelais  named  M.  Bougld,  were  rendered. 
The  title  of  the  vaudeville  was  Unfin  les  Voila!  and 
it  was  encored  by  the  audience  three  times. 


Ill 


GENERAL   DE  LABEDOYERE 

ON  the  day  when  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme 
entered  Bordeaux  in  triumph  amid  the  tumul- 
tuous applause  of  the  royalists,  the  Bonapartists 
in  Paris  were  in  consternation  because  of  the 
execution  of  General  Lab^doyere,  a  man  for  whom 
they  had  the  greatest  admiration.  His  trial,  sym- 
bolically summed  up,  as  one  may  say,  the  dissen- 
sions which  were  at  once  the  weakness  and  shame 
of  France.  In  that  act  were  reviewed  all  changes 
of  opinion,  all  political  cruelty,  and  all  the  irony  of 
fortune. 

What  pictures  must  have  passed  before  the  mental 
vision  of  the  accused  as  he  lay  in  prison !  What  a 
drama  had  been  played  within  a  few  weeks !  What 
incidents !  What  unaccountable  changes !  All  was 
like  the  scenes  of  a  tragedy  now  dazzling  and  now 
lugubrious.  In  imagination  the  prisoner  recalled 
that  7th  of  March  when,  at  the  head  of  his  regi- 
ment, the  Seventh  of  the  line,  he  was  on  the  road 
to  Grenoble,  shouting,  "  Long  live  the  Emperor!  "  and 
then :  "  Soldiers,  who  loves  me  follows  me !  "  —  that 
day  on  which  Napoleon  threw  himself  into  his  arms 

281 


282  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

and  cried  with  emotion :  "  Colonel,  'tis  you  who  reseat 
me  on  the  throne!  "  and  the  army  hailed  the  colonel 
of  the  Seventh  as  liberator  and  saviour.  He  recalled 
the  honors  rained  upon  him  during  the  Hundred 
Days:  the  rank  of  a  general  of  brigade,  promotion 
to  the  grade  of  general  of  division,  and  then  a  seat 
in  the  Chamber  of  Peers.  Would  that  Napoleon 
had  established  himself  firmly  on  the  throne,  and 
then,  who  could  tell  how  high  the  fortunes  of  that 
general  at  twenty-nine  might  not  have  soared  !  But 
even  in  full  glory  he  had  a  presentiment  of  his  fate. 
During  the  Hundred  Days  he  told  his  friends  more 
than  once  that  he  was  to  fall  victim  to  his  devotion 
to  the  Emperor;  he  said  the  same  thing  to  his 
mother ;  he  had  left  his  wife  in  dread  of  what  might 
happen. 

Then  came  before  him  the  awful  day  of  Waterloo, 
on  which  he  was  one  of  the  last  to  leave  the  battle- 
field ;  and  then  that  stormy  session  in  the  Chamber 
of  Peers  on  the  22d  of  June  at  which  he  had  spoken 
those  prophetic  words :  "  If  the  Chambers  desert  the 
Emperor,  all  is  lost.  In  a  few  days  the  enemy  will 
be  in  Paris.  Then  what  will  become  of  our  liber- 
ties, what  will  become  of  those  who  have  embraced 
the  cause  of  the  nation?  As  to  myself,  my  fate  is 
not  doubtful;  I  shall  be  shot."  He  knew  well  that, 
accordingly  as  affairs  turned  out,  he  would  be 
deemed  a  hero  or  a  traitor. 

After  the  overthrow  of  all  his  hopes,  Lab^doy^re 
still  retained  some  illusions.     He  imagined  that  his 


GENERAL  DE  LABEDOYERE  283 

life  would  be  spared.  He  believed  that  Article  12 
of  the  capitulation  of  Paris  on  the  3d  of  July  would 
be  lived  up  to,  and  this  article  covered  those  who 
had  taken  part  in  the  acts  of  the  Hundred  Days. 
Before  the  re-entrance  of  the  King,  he  had  received 
from  Fouch^  offers  of  money  to  leave  France.  He 
refused  them,  without  comprehending  his  position, 
and  with  inexplicable  imprudence  he  had  remained 
at  Clermont,  and,  though  attainted  by  the  ordinance 
of  the  24th  of  July,  he  had  set  out  for  Paris,  there 
to  say  ferewell  to  his  family.  On  the  2d  of  August 
he  was  arrested  by  a  police  officer  who  recognized 
him  in  the  diligence  on  the  road  from  Clermont  to 
Paris. 

A  great  outcry  was  raised  in  legitimist  salons 
against  a  man  who  seemed  to  those  who  frequented 
them  all  the  more  criminal  in  that  he  belonged  to 
one  of  the  most  ancient  of  French  aristocratic  fami- 
lies. It  was  said  that  his  fate  was  decided  out  of 
his  own  mouth.  Was  it  not  he  who  told  the  Cham- 
ber of  Peers  on  the  22d  of  June:  "I  ask  that 
traitors  shall  be  judged  and  punished  in  such  a  way 
as  to  terrify  those  who  would  imitate  them;  that 
their  names  be  made  infamous ;  that  their  houses  be 
razed,  their  families  proscribed  and  never  again 
permitted  to  set  foot  on  French  soil."  Charles  de 
Lab^doydre  was  a  count;  he  had  as  brothers-in-law 
MM.  de  Damas  and  de  Chastellux;  his  family 
were  entirely  of  royalist  stock.  His  descent,  it  was 
said,  ought  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  aggravation  and 


284  riiE  DUCHESS  of  ANGOVLEME 

not  as  an  excuse.  If  mercy  should  be  shown  to  him, 
no  one  could  be  condemned.  The  great  ladies  of 
the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  were,  for  the  most  part, 
furiously  enraged.  A  young  woman  of  high  society 
who,  in  order  to  calm  her  ire  a  little,  had  been 
informed  that  there  was  no  manner  of  doubt  that 
the  accused  would  be  convicted  and  executed, 
replied :  "  It  really  seems  so,  but  you  will  see  that 
he  will  be  spared  for  some  reason  or  other." 

Meantime  there  was  a  woman  who  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  prisoner's  fate,  and  who,  since  she 
despaired  of  saving  his  life,  made  prodigious  efforts 
to  save  at  least  his  soul.  This  woman  was  a  for- 
eigner, a  Russian,  who  because  of  her  excessive 
mysticism  suggested  the  project  of  the  Holy  Alli- 
ance to  the  Emperor  Alexander,  whose  conscience 
and  policy  she  directed.  This  was  the  Baroness 
de  Krudener.  She  was  a  very  odd  woman  who, 
while  yet  in  her  first  youth,  had  distinguished  her- 
self by  a  sort  of  fanaticism  for  Garat,  the  singer, 
before  whom  she  knelt  in  public,  —  she,  the  same 
feminine  author  who  execrated  Napoleon,  perhaps 
because  he  laughed  at  her  romance  Valerie^  and 
who,  by  assuming  Biblical  modes  of  speech  and  Bib- 
lical allusions,  as  if  she  were  a  prophetess,  exercised 
a  mysterious  influence  over  the  Czar.  Struck  by  a 
prophecy  in  which  she  had  predicted  to  him  the 
chief  political  events  of  the  last  three  years,  the 
Czar  gave  her  a  valuable  bracelet,  the  medallion  of 
which  represented  an  open  eye ;  it  was  his  own  left 


GENERAL  DE  LABEDOYEEE  285 

eye,  which  he  had  caused  to  be  painted  after  nature, 
according  to  an  old  Russian  notion  that  the  way  in 
which  an  absent  person  is  thinking  is  reflected  in 
the  image  of  his  eye.  She  wore  this  bracelet  as  a 
talisman  so  long  as  she  was  on  good  terms  with 
him  whom  she  called  the  White  Angel  sometimes, 
and  sometimes  the  Saviour  of  All. 

In  the  salon  of  Madame  de  Stael,  Madame  de 
Krudener  had  met  Charles  de  Lab^doyere  when  he 
was  hardly  more  than  a  youth,  and  had  been  inspired 
by  him  with  a  sentiment  which  he  did  not  at  all 
return,  and  which,  possibly,  may  have  been  nothing 
more  than  mystical  love.  This  handsome  young 
man  of  nineteen  had  strongly  affected  her,  and 
when,  ten  years  afterwards,  he  was  about  to  die  so 
tragic  a  death,  she  spoke  admiringly  of  him  to  the 
Emperor  Alexander.  "My  brother  in  Christ,"  said 
she  to  the  Czar,  "they  will  not  spare  poor  Lab^- 
doyere.  Ah!  could  you  but  have  seen  him  in  his 
beauty  ten  years  ago,  how  you  would  have  admired 
him!  How  admirable  he  was !  His  noble  head ;  his 
expressive  features;  his  fiery  mien;  his  splendid 
hair;  his  sensitive  heart;  his  brilliant  wit!  And 
this,  all  this,  will  soon  be  nothing  but  a  dim  mem- 
ory! Let  us  pray,  let  us  pray  that  Divine  mercy 
will  receive  him  to  bliss  eternal !  " 

The  bibliophile  Jacob,  "  Paul  Lacroix,"  that  much- 
lamented  writer,  gives  in  his  painstaking  work  on 
Madame  de  Krudener,  details,  not  previously  pub- 
lished,   of   the   part  played   by  that  extraordinary 


286  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

woman  in  the  pathetic  drama  which  ended  in  the 
execution  of  the  young  general.  Thanks  to  her, 
the  general  secured  an  interview  with  his  wife 
in  prison.  At  the  close  of  this  first  interview 
Madame  de  Labddoydre  wrote  to  the  Czar's  Egeria: 
"Ah,  Madame,  how  sad  I  was  when  I  saw  my 
unhappy  husband  once  more.  Nevertheless,  his 
calmness  and  his  noble  tranquillity  gave  me  heart 
again.  It  is  impossible  for  anybody  to  be  more 
resigned  to  any  fate  that  may  await  him.  To 
me  he  seemed  sublime.  Ah!  Madame,  how  happy 
should  I  be  if  my  prayers  should  be  blessed  by 
heaven  and  it  should  deign  to  restore  to  me  the 
father  of  my  child!  This  will  be  the  last  day  of 
the  investigation.  The  council  meets  on  Monday. 
Judge,  Madame,  of  my  affliction!  I  cannot  breathe. 
.  .  .  For  twenty-four  hours  my  babe  has  not  taken 
the  breast.  It  hurts  me  cruelly  to  look  at  him.  .  .  . 
I  cannot  restrain  my  grief.  I  seek  in  vain  to  inter- 
est the  allied  sovereigns  in  my  woes.  I  cannot 
even  reach  them.  Their  protection,  however,  would 
give  me  so  much  hope!  I  have  done  my  best  to 
send  a  letter  to  His  Majesty,  the  Emperor  of  Russia, 
whose  generosity  is  so  well  known  and  inspires  con- 
fidence in  the  heart  of  every  Frenchman,  but  I  do 
not  know  whether  it  has  reached  him  and  whether 
His  Majesty  has  condescended  to  read  it." 

Madame  de  Krudener's  answer,  which  bears  date 
of  the  11th  of  August,  1815,  is  a  sort  of  sermon. 
It  opens  as  follows:  "Would  that  I  could  console 


GENERAL  DE  LABEDOTERE  287 

you,  you  dear  and  unhappy  woman !  But  this  work 
is  not  for  man.  I  point  you  to  the  only  means  by 
which  you  can  be  released  from  this  deep  sorrow. 
It  is  God  and  God  alone,  Madame ;  Christ  the  Sav- 
iour, the  Mediator,  the  Restorer;  Christ,  the  Infinite 
Love,  the  Ocean  of  Charity.  .  .  .  Implore  the  liv- 
ing God!  Cast  yourself  on  His  breast,  and  seek  no 
aid  from  human  support  forbidden  by  His  Holy  Law, 
since  He  says:  'Accursed  be  he  who  leans  on  the 
arm  of  flesh. '  " 

The  whole  letter  was  nothing  but  one  long 
preachment.  Madame  de  Krudener  spoke  perpetu- 
ally about  the  eternal  salvation  of  the  accused,  but 
said  not  a  word  about  his  temporal  salvation.  She 
added:  "I  have  pointed  out  your  great  duties. 
Woman  on  earth  has  but  tears;  the  true  woman  is 
the  spouse  of  eternity  to  which  she  should  be  bound 
with  ties  sublime.  There  is  the  marriage  the 
Church  affords  us ;  every  other  is  naught  but  -adul- 
tery." The  letter  —  or  rather  the  sermon  —  ended 
as  follows :  "Be  truly  great  by  weeping  at  the  foot 
of  the  cross,  by  giving  your  whole  heart  to  God,  and 
by  saying  to  yourself:  'My  business  is  to  instruct 
my  husband,  not  to  deceive  him ;  to  show  him  the 
bitter  fruits  of  a  life  given  over  to  worldliness.' .  .  . 
I  have  spoken  the  truth  to  you.  I  do  not  know 
what  words  I  have  used.  Charity  is  my  duty.  It 
is  by  turns  tender  and  severe.  I  am  a  Christian 
and,  while  humbling  my  nothingness  at  the  feet  of 
Christ,  I  have  the  boldness  of  loftiest  hopes,  for  I 


288  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

know  His  profound  compassion,  and  I  trust  that 
your  husband  may  be  saved  if  he  will  but  cast  him- 
self on  the  breast  of  the  Saviour  who  rejects  no 
one." 

Madame  de  Krudener's  letter  plunged  Madame  de 
Labddoy^re  into  deep  dejection.  She  read  and 
re-read  it,  pondering  over  those  words :  "  I  trust  that 
your  husband  may  be  saved."  She  could  not  believe 
that  it  referred  only  to  the  salvation  of  his  soul. 
She  longed  to  have  his  body  rescued  also. 

Meantime,  Madame  de  Krudener  had  appeared  in 
mourning  garb  at  the  prison  wicket,  and,  laying 
down  a  Bible,  insisted  that  the  book  should  be  given 
to  Lab^doy^re  on  her  behalf.  Then  the  general 
wrote  her  the  following  letter:  "Madame,  I  cannot 
refuse  myself  the  happiness  of  thanking  you  for  the 
interest  you  have  taken  in  my  unhappy  wife.  You 
have  appreciated  her  goodness  and  her  virtues,  and 
you  certainly  wished  to  comfort  her.  Do  not  take 
it  amiss,  Madame,  that  I  thank  you  for  it.  I  appre- 
ciate the  book  you  sent  me.  There  are  times  in  life 
when  one  specially  loves  to  be  absorbed  in  the  great 
and  sublime  thoughts  that  religion  affords.  I  trust 
I  shall  profitably  employ  the  brief  moments  still  at 
my  disposal." 

Charmed  with  such  pious  talk,  Madame  de  Kru- 
dener replied  in  the  tone  of  a  parson:  "I  thank 
you,  sir,  for  that  letter,  which  turns  my  bitter  tears 
to  tears  of  sweetness.  .  .  .  How  lofty  a  thing  is 
the  death  of  the  Christian  praying  to  Christ  I     It 


GENERAL  DE  LABEDOYEBE  289 

allies  him  to  all  the  great  men,  who  have  been  the 
splendor  of  the  ages ;  the  Augustines,  the  Jeromes, 
the  Tertullians,  the  F^nelons,  the  Saint  Francises, 
all  those  who  hold  names  most  dear  to  humanity, 
are  associated  with  him.  And  what  made  the 
Bayards,  what  made  men  like  Gustavus  Adolphus, 
the  greatest  captains  of  their  times?  .  .  .  Would 
that  I  could  see  you  and  that  my  accents  could 
express  the  compassion  I  have  found  at  the  foot  of 
the  Cross !  I  do  not  leave  you.  .  .  .  My  hopes  are 
immortal.  In  death  the  Christian  begins  life,  while 
the  unbeliever  begins  only  a  round  of  frightful  tor- 
ments. May  the  Saviour  in  whom  is  all  my  hope, 
may  Christ,  may  the  living  God,  bless  you." 

The  accused  was  produced  before  the  council  of 
war  on  the  14th  of  August.  The  number  of  specta- 
tors was  very  large.  Among  them  were  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  the  Prince  Royal  of  Wurtemberg,  Prince 
William  of  Prussia,  the  foreign  ambassadors,  and 
many  great  ladies  who  were  drawn  to  the  trial  by 
morbid  curiosity.  The  attitude  of  Lab^doy^re  was 
calm  and  full  of  dignity.  "  If  my  life  alone  were  at 
stake,"  said  he,  "I,  who  before  now  have  led  brave 
men  to  death,  would  meet  it  myself  like  a  brave 
man,  nor  would  I  seek  to  delay  your  sentence ;  but 
my  honor  is  assailed  along  with  my  life,  and  that 
honor  does  not  belong  to  me  alone.  A  woman,  a 
model  of  all  the  virtues,  a  son  in  his  cradle,  have 
the  right  to  demand  that  I  consider  it,  and  I  would 
that    they   should   hereafter    be    able    to    say   that, 


290  THE  DUCHESS  OF  angoul£:me 

despite  the  blow  that  befell  me,  my  honor  was 
unsullied.  I  was  deceived  myself  as  to  the  true 
interests  of  France;  glorious  memories,  ardent  love 
of  country,  illusions,  misled  me,  but  the  very  great- 
ness of  the  sacrifices  I  made  in  breaking  the  dearest 
of  ties,  shows  that  no  self-interest  entered  into  my 
conduct." 

The  accused  then  gave  some  explanation  of  the 
state  of  opinion  at  the  time  of  the  return  from  Elba: 
"  If  my  voice  may  have  the  solemnity  of  the  feeble 
accents  of  the  dying,"  said  he,  "what  I  am  about  to 
submit  to  your  consideration  will,  perhaps,  not  be 
without  service  to  my  country.  In  1814  the  nation 
and  the  army  left  Napoleon  to  his  fate;  the  family 
of  the  Bourbons  was  received  back  with  enthusi- 
asm. How  did  that  situation  come  to  be  changed? 
Through  the  words  and  actions  of  faithful  servants, 
of  friends  blinded  by  personal  interests,  by  false 
ideas,  by  misapprehension  of  the  state  of  France." 
At  these  words  the  president  cried  out:  "You  are 
accused  of  a  crime;  it  is  not  yours  to  discuss  the 
motives  that  led  you  to  its  commission.  The  council 
cannot  pronounce  on  motives.  In  its  eyes  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  guiltless  crime."  —  "Do  you  wish 
me,"  replied  the  general,  "to  deny  well-known 
facts,  and  actions  which  I  avow  ?  My  only  defence 
is  in  the  examination  of  the  political  causes  that  led 
me  to  the  deeds  for  which  I  now  answer  before  you. 
You  do  not  wish  to  hear  me?  I  shall  not  insist 
upon  it."     Then  he  expressed  his  desire  that  all  the 


GENERAL  BE  LABEDOTEEE  291 

French  should  be  but  a  single  family  around  the 
throne.  "Probably,"  said  he,  in  closing  his  address, 
"it  will  not  be  for  me  to  witness  that  grand  and 
touching  sight.  Already  have  I  shed  my  blood  for 
my  country,  and  now  I  shall  die  resigned  and  calm, 
trusting  that  my  death,  preceded  by  the  acknowl- 
edgment of  my  error,  will  not  be  wholly  useless, 
and  that  memory  of  me  shall  never  waken  a  painful 
thought ;  that  my  son,  when  old  enough  to  serve  his 
country,  shall  not  blush  for  his  father,  and  that  his 
native  land  will  not  reproach  him  with  his  name." 

The  accused  was  unanimously  condemned  to 
death.  "Monsieur  Bexon,"  said  he  to  his  counsel, 
"  I  did  as  they  wished ;  they  stifled  my  defence,  but 
none  the  less  do  I  die  defending  myself,  shot  before 
the  eyes  of  the  allied  sovereigns  who  signed  the 
treaty  of  Paris."  On  the  following  day  he  received 
from  Madame  de  Krudener  a  writing  entitled  Medi- 
tation, which,  after  giving  a  description  of  the 
earthly  Paradise,  ended  thus:  "O,  Splendor  of  the 
Primitive  Destiny  of  the  King  of  the  Earth,  tell  us, 
instruct  us ;  make  the  captive  blush  who,  though  in 
chains,  still  thinks  of  earthly  affairs  and  is  puffed  up 
with  pride  when  he  has  lost  all,  and  all  things  accuse 
him ;  who  is  proud  of  having  availed  himself  of  lib- 
erty to  resist  God,  to  betray  Him,  to  forsake  Him,  to 
make  unto  himself  shameless  idols,  or  sing  praises 
to  his  passions  and  to  look  with  longing  upon  vani- 
ties invented  by  the  Enemy  of  us  all." 

Application  for  an  appeal  was  refused,  notwith- 


292  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

standing  an  eloquent  address  by  the  lawyer,  Mau- 
guin.  "I  expected  the  refusal,"  said  the  condemned 
man.  "  I  have  received  a  letter  informing  me  that 
Baroness  de  Krudener  has  been  authorized  to  visit 
me.  Thank  the  lady,  in  my  behalf,  for  all  she 
wished  to  do,  but  I  do  not  wish  to  see  her.  I  will 
see  nobody  but  my  old  friend  Abb^  Delondelle." 
This  ecclesiastic,  who  was  chaplain  of  the  Carmelite 
ladies  of  the  rue  Saint-Jacques,  had  been  the  gen- 
eral's early  teacher. 

The  condemned  man  wrote  to  his  mother:  "I 
send  by  M.  Delondelle,  who  is  good  enough  to  be 
with  me  during  my  last  moments,  a  few  words 
expressive  of  my  affection  and  respect,  and  the 
regret  I  feel  for  the  sorrow  I  have  caused  you  and 
the  misfortunes  I  have  made  you  undergo.  He 
comes  to  ask  your  blessing  for  me,  and  with  it  I 
know  I  shall  die  more  peacefully.  .  .  .  Adieu, 
dear  mother ;  bless  your  son  once  more,  and  forgive 
him."  He  wrote  also  the  following  letter  to  his 
mother-in-law,  the  Countess  of  Chastellux:  "Re- 
ceive, my  dear  mother,  the  last  farewells  of  a  son 
who  was  never  quite  worthy  of  your  Georgine,  but 
who  is  dying,  and  at  the  moment  of  his  death 
ventures  to  speak  of  his  appreciation  of  all  your 
goodness.  Take  care  of  my  dear  Georgine;  she 
loves  me,  and  her  sorrow  will  be  great;  but  your 
care  and  that  of  my  excellent  sister  Gabrielle  and 
all  the  family  and  my  little  angel,  will  bring  her 
some   consolation.      Pardon  me   all  the  ill  I   have 


GENERAL  DE  LABEBOYEBE  293 

done  you.  Pray  for  me,  and  weep  for  an  unfortu- 
nate man  who,  in  his  early  years,  loses  so  many 
sources  of  happiness." 

What  could  be  more  touching  than  the  unhappy 
general's  letter  to  his  dearly  loved  wife,  so  soon  to 
be  his  widow?  "Receive,  my  adorable  Georgine, 
my  last  adieu!  My  latest  sigh  Avill  be  for  thee. 
Dear  friend,  how  grieved  I  am  over  all  the  misfor- 
tunes I  have  brought  on  thee,  and  thy  unhappy 
family,  and  on  mine !  I  had  hoped,  dear  friend,  to 
make  thee  happy.  The  thought  of  the  sorrow  I 
have  caused  thee  is  sadder  than  the  thought  of 
death.  I  shall  die  a  Christian;  that  will  console 
thee.  Think  on  thy  child,  thy  mother,  thy  sisters ; 
console  thyself,  dear  Georgine;  'tis  a  sacred  duty. 
Adieu!" 

Following  is  the  general's  will,  which  we  have 
received  from  his  grandson.  Count  Jean  de  Lab^- 
doyere:  "This  is  my  will.  As  a  testimony  of 
friendship  I  give  my  watch-chain  and  all  the  seals 
to  Charles  de  Flahaut.  I  beg  Jules  de  Sayve  to 
accept  my  watch  as  a  last  token  of  remembrance; 
I  desire  that  the  picture  of  my  dear  Georgine,  which 
I  shall  wear  till  the  moment  of  death,  be  transmitted 
to  my  son.  I  confide  it  to  my  excellent  second 
mother,  and  ask  her  not  to  give  it  to  him  till  he  can 
comprehend  all  that  it  means.  May  the  words 
engraved  on  the  clasp  of  its  chain  be  ever  sacred  to 
him!  May  he  forgive  his  father  for  having  for  a 
moment  forgotten  them!     I  give  my  brother  Henri 


294  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULtME 

the  ring  I  wear  on  the  fourth  finger  of  my  right 
hand;  it  contains  some  of  my  little  George's  hair. 
May  he  protect  the  boy,  and  sometimes  speak  to  him 
about  his  father!  I  give  Henri  de  Chastellux  the 
large  portrait  of  my  good,  my  too  good,  Georgine. 
Let  him  watch  over  and  console  her,  and  may  he 
sometimes  remember  his  old  friendship  for  me!  I 
beg  my  brother  Henri  to  select  two  of  the  best 
works  in  my  library,  and  I  ask  that  he  and  my  sister 
Ambroisine  d'Estampes  will  each  accept  one  of 
them.  I  beg  my  dear  mother  to  accept  the  picture 
of  my  little  angel  and  to  transfer  to  him  the  tender- 
ness she  had  for  me.  —  Paris,  the  19th  of  August, 
1815. — Charles  de  Labedoybre." 

While  making  his  will,  the  condemned  man  was 
under  no  delusion  in  regard  to  his  fate.  One  alone, 
his  unhappy  wife,  still  was  able  to  hope  against  hope. 
Towards  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  the 
King  was  about  to  enter  his  carriage  in  the  court- 
yard of  the  Tuileries  to  take  his  usual  airing,  a 
woman  dressed  in  black  threw  herself  on  her  knees 
before  him,  weeping  bitterly  and  crying :  "  Pardon ! 
pardon !  "  It  was  Madame  de  Lab^doyere.  —  "  Ma- 
dame," said  Louis  XVIII. ,  "I  understand  your  feel- 
ings and  those  of  your  family,  and  never  was  I  more 
grieved  to  refuse  a  request. "  The  poor  woman  fell 
in  a  swoon. 

Two  hours  later,  about  five  o'clock,  another 
woman  in  deep  mourning,  stood  in  the  courtyard 
waiting  for  the   King's   return.     It   was    the   con- 


GENERAL  BE  LABEBOYERE  295 

demnecl  man's  mother.  She  tried  to  approach  the 
carriage,  but  orders  were  given  to  prevent  her  from 
doing  so.  Louis  XVIII.  saw  her  at  a  distance  and 
made  an  impatient  gesture,  muttering  at  the  same 
time :  "  No  pardon !  " 

Half  an  hour  afterwards,  in  the  plain  of  Grenelle, 
General  de  Labddoyere  knelt  to  receive  the  blessing 
of  his  old  preceptor,  the  Abb^  Delondelle,  and  then, 
rising  calmly,  stepped  toward  the  gendarmes  who 
were  about  to  shoot  him,  and,  pointing  to  his  breast, 
said:  "My  friends,  do  not  miss!  "and,  refusing  to 
have  his  eyes  bandaged,  gave  them  the  order  to  fire. 
The  day  of  execution  was  the  19th  of  August,  1815. 

When  Madame  de  Krudener  learned  the  end  of 
the  drama,  she  shed  abundant  tears.  "  O  my  God, 
how  I  thank  Thee!  "  she  cried;  "Thou  hast  saved  a 
soul  while  men  were  wreaking  vengeance  on  a  mis- 
erable body !  Thine  be  the  glory !  Thine  the  glory, 
God  of  love  and  mercy  I  " 


IV 

FOITCHB 

THE  Duchess  of  Angouleme  left  Paris  on  the 
15th  of  August,  —  that  is  to  say,  four  days 
before  the  execution  of  the  unhappy  Lab^doy^re,  — 
and  returned  on  the  11th  of  September.  Her  jour- 
ney was  a  continuous  ovation.  It  might  almost  be 
said  that  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  advanced 
under  triumphal  arches.  On  the  5th  of  September 
the  Moniteur  quoted  the  following  notice  from  the 
Indicateur  de  Bordeaux :  "  September  2.  —  Her  Royal 
Highness,  Madame,  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme, 
set  out  at  six  o'clock  yesterday  morning.  Never 
shall  we  forget  Madame *s  too  brief  sojourn  in  the 
faithful  city  that  so  ardently  desired  to  see  the 
daughter  of  kings  again,  and  which  nothing  but  her 
auspicious  promise  to  live  here  always  could  ever 
console  for  her  recent  departure.  All  Her  Royal 
Highness 's  time  has  been  spent  in  wiping  away  the 
tears  which  the  new  misfortunes  that  have  pursued 
her  have  caused  us  to  shed.  She  knew  that  her 
presence  was  a  soothing  balm  for  the  wounds  of  the 
heart.  The  reveille  at  daybreak  was  not  merely  for 
the  national  guard.     Everybody  wished  to  see  the 

296 


FOUCHE  297 

object  of  universal  regret  once  more.  The  proces- 
sion slowly  proceeded  through  a  crowd,  as  it  did  a 
fortnight  ago;  but  at  that  time  all  hearts  thrilled 
v/ith  delight,  and  joy  was  depicted  on  every  counte- 
nance. But  yesterday  all  faces  wore  another  expres- 
sion, —  that  of  melancholy,  of  grief.  Barely  had 
the  population  strength  enough  to  breathe  unani- 
mous blessings  which  resembled  matin  prayers, 
which  are  never  so  fervent  as  when  they  are  borne 
upward  by  hope." 

Everywhere  the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  was  wor- 
shipped as  an  idol.  At  Toulouse,  which  she  entered 
on  the  2d  of  September,  two  lines  of  poplars,  plane- 
trees,  and  acacias,  carefully  transplanted,  shaded 
the  fagades  of  the  houses  with  foliage  and  made 
masses  of  green.  The  horses  were  detached  from 
her  carriage,  and  forty  young  men  disputed  the 
privilege  of  dragging  it.  Groups  of  maidens  dressed 
in  white,  girdled  with  green  scarfs  and  crowned 
with  lilies,  preceded  and  surrounded  the  coach  and 
strewed  flowers  in  its  path.-  At  the  theatre  on  the 
5th  of  September,  General  Ricard  announced  to 
the  audience  that  the  Spanish  army,  which  had 
theretofore  been  in  occupation  of  a  part  of  the 
department  of  Basses-Pyrenees,  had  crossed  the 
frontier  and  was  already  on  the  march.  This  news 
produced  all  the  effect  of  a  theatrical  situation,  and 
was  received  with  shouts  of  "  Long  live  the  King ! 
Long  live  the  Duke  of  Angouleme!  Long  live 
Madame ! "     On  the  next  day  the  Princess  visited 


298  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUhilME 

the  Capitol,  where  she  received  the  respects  of  the 
Academy  of  Floral  Games.  The  Toulousains  brought 
out  all  their  inventive  genius  and  taxed  their  inge- 
nuity to  receive  her  with  the  very  refinement  of 
flattery.  As  she  passed  the  church  du  Taur,  two 
doves,  which  appeared  to  descend  from  the  sky, 
deposited  in  her  lap  a  crown  of  lilies. 

At  the  hour  when  the  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  was 
preparing  to  re-enter  Paris,  something  poisoned  the 
pleasure  she  would  otherwise  have  felt  at  being 
there  again,  and  this  was  the  reflection  that  she 
would  once  more  find  a  regicide  among  her  uncle's 
ministers.  At  a  time  when  a  gory  reaction  had 
been  inaugurated  by  the  execution  of  the  unfortu- 
nate Labddoy^re,  it  was  surely  by  some  irony  of  fate 
that  the  proscription  lists  should  be  made  up  by  a 
terrorist  of  the  Convention.  The  Princess  was  a 
woman  of  conviction  and  as  strongly  attached  to  her 
political  as  to  her  religious  faith,  and  consequently 
she  could  not  familiarize  herself  with  this  idea. 

Meantime  the  credit'  of  Fouch^,  like  that  of 
Talleyrand,  began  to  receive  some  heavy  shocks. 
"The  Duchess  of  Angoul^me  is  coming,"  said  the 
King  to  Baron  de  Vitrolles,  "and  the  dismissal  of 
Fouch^  would  be  a  fine  bouquet  to  give  her." 
—  "Where  should  we  be.  Sire,  if  the  policy  of  the 
State  should  be  reduced  to  bouquets  ?  "  "  The  King 
said  no  more,"  adds  M.  de  Vitrolles;  "but  on  the 
next  day.  His  Majesty  of  his  own  accord  returned 
to  the  immediate  dismission  of  the  ministers  as  if  he 


FOUCHE  299 


wished  to  persuade  me.  I  readily  saw  what  kind  of 
influence  was  being  exerted  on  the  King.  The  pre- 
fect of  police,  urgent  to  have  done  with  the  minister 
whom  he  wished  to  replace,  pushed  matters  beyond 
bounds  and  seriously  disturbed  the  King  about  his 
personal  safety.  Matters  even  went  so  far  as  to 
make  him  think  that  the  Duke  of  Otranto  was 
strongly  suspected  of  a  conspiracy  to  have  him  and 
his  family  murdered  in  the  Tuileries.  When  I 
insisted  that  for  every  reason  of  policy  and  dignity 
he  should  not  permit  himself  to  be  drawn  into  hasty 
action,  his  voice  changed.  ...  '  But,  meanwhile, ' 
said  he,  '  I  must  be  taken  care  of. '  " 

In  reality,  from  the  very  first  day  the  presence  of 
Fouch^  in  the  ministry  had  weighed  like  a  night- 
mare on  the  conscience  of  the  King. 

In  speaking  of  the  conduct  of  Fouch^  while  he 
was  in  the  ministry  of  the  second  Restoration, 
M.  Guizot  says  in  his  Memoirs:  "A  little  less 
hurry  and  a  little  more  steadiness  would  have 
spared  Louis  XVIII.  a  sad  scandal.  He  had  only 
to  wait  a  few  days,  and  there  would  have  been  no 
need  for  him  to  run  the  risk,  not  of  revolution  and 
disastrous  disturbances,  but  of  a  prolongation  of 
disorders  and  alarms.  Necessity  imposes  itself  on 
nations  just  as  it  does  on  individuals.  The  neces- 
sity of  which  Fouche  made  use  in  order  to  become 
one  of  Louis  XVIII. 's  ministers  was  in  a  great 
degree  factitious  and  temporary;  that  which  brought 
Louis  XVIII.   back  to  the  Tuileries  was  natural. 


800  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

and  became  more  urgent  daj'  \yy  day.  He  had  no 
need  of  taking  Fouch^  into  his  cabinet  at  Arnou- 
ville ;  he  might  have  remained  there  in  peace ;  they 
would  have  soon  been  obliged  to  go  there  after 
him." 

A  noteworthy  thing  is  that  it  was  by  the  most 
enthusiastic  royalists  that  the  selection  of  Fouch^, 
Duke  of  Otranto,  and  Napoleon's  minister  of  police 
during  the  Hundred  Days,  was  imposed  on  the 
King,  and  that  it  was  through  them  that  he  became 
Louis  XVIII.  's  Minister  of  Police  under  the  second 
Restoration.  Baron  de  Vitrolles,  Count  Beugnot, 
and  Chateaubriand  express,  not  without  surprise, 
the  singular  enthusiasm  felt  by  the  defenders  of  the 
throne  and  altar  for  a  regicide.  M.  de  Vitrolles 
says :  "  The  opinion  of  the  royalists  and  the  notables 
of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  was  suddenly  and 
in  an  unexpected  way  given  in  favor  of  the  Duke  of 
Otranto.  Had  he  exercised  over  them  those  influ- 
ences, the  art  of  which  he  understood  better  than 
anybody  else  ?  Or  was  it  that  the  capricious  wind  of 
opinion  had  blown  upon  them?  It  is  certain  that 
with  one  voice  they  called  for  Fouch^  as  Minister 
of  Police.  He  alone,  they  said,  could  protect  the 
throne  from  the  plots  of  its  enemies,  and  fear  came 
to  their  aid.  When  I  objected,  my  objections  had 
not  the  slightest  weight.  Up  to  that  time  I  had 
thought  that  such  shiftings  of  opinion  were  reserved 
for  the  ignorant  populace,  and  I  was  astounded  to 
find  it  easier  to  carry  the  people  of  the  Faubourg 


FOUCHE  301 

Saint-Germain  off  their  feet  than  the  frequenters  of 
the  drinking-places  of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Antoine." 

It  greatly  surprised  Count  Beugnot  to  find  the 
Constable  of  Crussol,  sometime  captain  of  Monsieur's 
body-guard,  and  a  legitimist  par  excellence,  distin- 
guishing himself  by  his  zeal  in  behalf  of  Fouchd: 
"I  recoiled,"  says  Count  Beugnot;  "I  could  not 
believe  it.  What!  the  Constable  of  Crussol,  the  last 
of  our  chevaliers,  the  very  type  of  fidelity,  —  does 
he  propose  the  selection  of  such  a  man  to  the 
brother  of  Louis  XVI. !  I  reproached  the  worthy 
man,  and  my  reproaches  were  pretty  severe,  but  he 
always  replied:  'What  would  you  have?  Fouch^ 
preserved  us  all  when  the  King  went  away;  it  is 
owing  to  him  alone  that  M.  de  Vitrolles  was  not 
shot,  and  really,  who  in  France  are  the  enemies  of 
the  royal  family?  The  Jacobins!  Well,  Fouch^ 
holds  them  in  his  hand,  and  so  long  as  he  is  for  the 
King,  we  may  sleep  in  peace.  My  dear  M.  Beug- 
not, families  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  are 
old;  we  have  suffered  too  much;  we  need  rest.'  " 

And  what  is  M.  de  Chateaubriand's  opinion? 
"  Was  not  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  right  in  its 
belief  in  M.  Fouchd?  When  M.  de  Saint-L^on 
went  to  Vienna  he  took  three  letters,  one  of  which 
was  addressed  to  M.  de  Talle5Tand;  the  Duke  of 
Otranto  desired  Louis  XVIII.  's  ambassador  to  urge 
the  son  of  Philippe  Egalit^  to  seat  himself  on  the 
throne  if  he  saw  his  way  clear.  What  probity  in 
these  negotiations !     How  fortunate  we  were  to  have 


302  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

to  do  with  such  honorable  gentlemen !  We  admired 
them,  however;  burned  incense  before  them  and 
blessed  these  Cartouches;  we  paid  court  to  them 
and  called  them  'monseigneur.'"  And,  like  M.  de 
Vitrolles,  like  Count  Beugnot,  Chateaubriand  shows 
us  the  entire  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  singing  a 
canticle  of  gratitude  in  honor  of  the  notorious 
regicide.  "Everybody,"  he  adds,  "had  a  hand  in 
the  nomination  of  Fouchd,  when  it  was  once  secured, 
—  religion  and  impiety,  virtue  and  vice,  royalist 
and  revolutionist,  foreigner  and  Frenchman,  —  all 
exclaimed:  'Without  Fouch^,  no  security  for  the 
King;  without  Fouch^  no  safety  for  France;  he 
alone  can  do  the  work. '  The  old  Duchess  Dowager 
of  Duras  was  one  of  the  noble  ladies  most  animated 
in  the  hymn.  .  .  .  The  timorous  had  been  so  much 
afraid  of  Bonaparte  that  they  took  the  assassin  of 
Lyons  for  a  Titus." 

After  these  laments,  the  author  of  the  GSnie 
du  CJiristianisme  tells  the  following  anecdote. 
"'Well?'  said  Louis  XVIII.  to  me,  opening  the 
conversation  with  that  expression. — 'Well,  Sire, 
are  you  going  to  take  the  Duke  of  Otranto?'  'It 
is  necessary  to  have  him;  from  my  brother  to  the 
Constable  of  Crussol  (and  the  latter  is  not  suspected) 
everybody  says  that  we  cannot  do  otherwise.  What 
do  you  think?'  —  'Sire,  the  thing  is  done;  I  ask 
Your  Majesty's  permission  to  be  silent.'  'No,  no; 
speak ;  you  know  that  I  have  opposed  the  measure 
ever  since  Ghent.'  —  'Sire,   I  can   only  obey  youi 


FOUCHE  303 


orders ;  pardon  my  fidelity ;  I  believe  the  monarchy 
is  at  an  end. '  The  King  did  not  reply,  and  I  was 
beginning  to  tremble  at  my  hardihood  when  His 
Majesty  resumed:  'Well,  M.  de  Chateaubriand,  I  am 
of  your  opinion.'  " 

Notwitlistanding  her  habitual  obedience  to  the 
King,  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  had  always 
declined  to  receive  Fouchd.  As  soon  as  she  per- 
ceived his  presence  at  the  Tuileries  she  became 
anxious  and  disturbed.  But  she  was  not  to  suffer 
long  from  this  humiliating  sight.  It  was  not  neces- 
sary for  her  to  secure  the  removal  of  the  Minister  of 
Police.  He  fell  of  himself.  At  the  time  when  the 
Princess  entered  Paris,  after  her  triumphal  journey 
to  Bordeaux  and  Toulouse,  a  new  Chamber  of 
Deputies  was  opening  its  sessions.  This  was  the 
celebrated  "  Undiscoverable  Chamber,"  —  an  assem- 
bly more  royalist  than  the  King  himself. 

With  a  Chamber  like  this,  even  Fouchd  saw  that 
his  further  presence  in  the  ministry  had  become 
impossible.  Up  to  the  last  moment  he  was  the 
victim  of  illusions.  He  had  secured  the  interven- 
tion of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  in  his  favor.  A 
domestic  event  whose  importance  he  much  over- 
estimated had  just  strengthened  his  chimerical  hope 
of  definitively  conciliating  the  Faubourg  Saint-Ger- 
main. He  had  for  several  years  been  a  widower, 
but  he  succeeded  in  persuading  a  young  woman  of 
high  family,  but  without  fortune,  Mademoiselle  de 
Castellane,   to  accept  his  hand.      But  on  his  very 


304  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUhtME 

wedding  day  he  was  given  to  understand  that  the 
Duchess  of  Otranto  would  never  be  well  received  by 
duchesses  of  ancient  lineage.  The  daughter  of 
Louis  XVI.  was  installed  at  the  Tuileries  on  the 
11th  of  September,  1815.  On  the  19th,  Fouchd  was 
dismissed.  Five  days  afterwards  he  dragged  the 
Prince  de  Talleyrand  along  with  him  in  his  down- 
fall. Thus  this  Talleyrand-Fouchd  ministry,  the 
object  of  so  many  intrigues,  ambitions,  and  resent- 
ments, lasted  only  three  months.  On  the  stage  of 
history  do  not  celebrities  resemble  the  poor  marion- 
ettes whose  thread  is  pulled  by  a  mysterious  and 
invisible  hand? 

On  leaving  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
Prince  de  Talleyrand  had  the  address  to  get  him- 
self appointed  grand  chamberlain,  at  a  salary  of  a 
hundred  thousand  francs.  Fouch^  contented  him- 
self with  being  the  French  minister  at  Dresden, 
which  was  a  court  all  in  the  family,  inasmuch  as 
Louis  XVIII.  was  the  son  of  a  princess  of  Saxony. 
Once  again  was  the  irony  of  fate  shown  in  the 
presence  of  a  regicide,  as  representative  of  the  Most 
Christian  King  at  that  patriarchal  court,  where, 
besides.  Napoleon  was  always  held  in  highest  honor. 

While  Fouch^,  Duke  of  Otranto,  was  making 
ready  to  go  to  his  diplomatic  post,  he  received  from 
Louis  XVIII.  a  letter  couched  in  friendly  terms. . 
He  answered  it  with  an  epistle  like  a  Parthian  shaft, 
denouncing  to  the  King,  the  Princes  of  his  family, 
and  especially  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  AngoulSme, 


FOUCHE  305 


for  alleged  attempts  to  overtlirow  the  throne.  Then 
this  man  who,  two  months  before,  had  wrested  from 
the  Emperor  his  abdication  and  driven  him  from  the 
Elysde  to  Malmaison,  and  from  Malmaison  to  the 
sea,  took  up  in  turn  his  road  to  the  frontier,  more 
like  an  exile  than  a  diplomat,  and  disguised,  till  he 
should  have  left  France  behind  him.  On  the  2d  of 
October,  1815,  while  on  his  way,  he  wrote  as  fol- 
lows from  Brussels  to  his  chief,  the  Duke  of  Riche- 
lieu, president  of  the  Council  and  Minister  of  For- 
eign Affairs:  "My  Lord  Duke:  I  left  Paris  after 
receiving  my  credentials.  ...  I  congratulate  myself 
on  the  relations  that  have  come  to  exist  between 
Your  Excellency  and  myself.  They  will  surely  make 
you  appreciate  my  services.  I  know  that  those  which 
I  rendered  during  my  ministry  have  been  miscon- 
strued. I  must  expect  that  intrigue  will  continue  to 
depreciate  them,  if  only  to  show  its  zeal.  I  confide  in 
the  justice  of  the  King,  in  public  opinion,  and  in  time 
to  be  revenged  for  all  outrages.  I  hope.  My  Lord 
Duke,  that  in  the  functions  which  I  shall  exercise, 
I  shall  place  in  your  hand  weapons  for  my  defence. 
In  the  present  condition  of  Europe,  there  is  no 
diplomatic  mission  that  may  become  more  impor- 
tant. Questions  are  about  to  arise,  and  the  way 
in  which  they  are  dealt  with  will  give  more  or  less 
lustre  to  this  or  that  legation." 

On  the  11th  of  October,  1815,  the  Duke  of  Riche- 
lieu replied :  "  My  Lord  Duke :  I  am  in  receipt  of 
the  letter  which  you  did  me  the  honor  to  write  from 


806  THE  UUCUE8S   OF  ANGOULEME 

Brussels,  on  the  2d  of  this  month.  I  shall  be 
delighted  to  see  relations  established  between  us 
which  your  information  and  experience  may  render 
of  great  advantage  to  the  welfare  of  the  State.  You 
may  rely  on  my  eagerness  to  cause  the  King  to 
appreciate  the  services  you  may  render  in  the 
mission  His  Majesty  has  confided  to  you." 

Arrived  at  his  post,  the  French  minister  to 
Saxony  thus  reported  his  reception:  "Dresden, 
October  30,  1815. —My  Lord  Duke:  I  reached 
Dresden  on  Saturday.  Yesterday,  which  was  Sun- 
day, I  presented  my  credentials  to  the  King,  who 
received  me  kindly,  and  invited  me  to  dine  with 
the  royal  family.  An  equal  feeling  of  gratitude 
and  veneration  for  our  august  sovereign  animates 
the  court  of  Saxony.  It  earnestly  prays  that  his 
good  fortune  may  equal  his  virtvies  and  his  en- 
lightenment." 

To  this  despatch  the  Duke  of  Otranto  added  the 
following  profession  of  royalist  faith  accompanied 
with  a  bit  of  flattery  to  the  Duke  of  Richelieu :  "  All 
opinions,  parties,  and  factions  must  be  pretty  well 
convinced  by  this  time  that  France  cannot  recover 
its  independence  as  a  nation  save  by  rallying 
frankly  and  strongly  around  the  King.  To  Your 
Excellency  belongs  the  task  of  bringing  this  truth 
home  to  every  heart.  Your  noble  character,  now 
perfectly  well  known  to  the  whole  nation,  inspires 
entire  confidence  in  your  words." 

In  his  correspondence,    Fouch^   thought  less  of 


FOUCHE  307 

casting  light  on  the  affairs  of  Saxony  than  of  giving 
advice  about  the  inside  condition  of  France,  and 
pleading  his  own  cause,  for  his  conscience  was  his 
accuser.  In  a  despatch,  dated  on  the  3d  of  Decem- 
ber, 1815,  he  wrote:  "Your  ministry  will  be 
honored  and  blessed  if  you  reconcile  all  the  parties 
around  the  throne  and  prevent  any  one  of  them  from 
becoming  too  prominent.  I  had  no  other  thought 
during  my  ministry.  My  Lord  Duke,  lofty  souls 
are  sincere.  I  meditated  no  lie  when  I  swore  to  the 
King  that  I  would  serve  him.  My  heart  was  so 
filled  with  the  necessity  of  uniting  with  him  that 
it  would  willingly  have  leaped  into  the  midst  of 
France,  poured  its  blood  into  every  breast,  and  so 
penetrated  all  with  its  sentiments.  All  Paris 
appreciated  my  conduct  during  the  terrible  crisis 
that  shook  the  throne.  It  required  some  courage  to 
declare  for  the  Bourbons  before  the  King  had  entered 
his  capital.  I  was  at  the  head  of  the  French  gov- 
ernment. It  is  well  known  that  no  personal  dan- 
gers chilled  my  devotion  to  the  King.  It  is  easy 
now  for  an  orator  to  cast  reproach  on  any  minister 
from  the  height  of  the  two  Chambers,  but  it  is  a 
somewhat  delicate  matter  to  insult  an  absent  min- 
ister; and  he  who,  after  the  subsidence  of  a  storm, 
attacks  the  minister  who  quelled  it,  shows  more 
passion  than  good  sense.  .  .  .  The  way  in  which 
your  predecessors  are  denounced  is  sufficient  to 
forewarn  you  of  the  way  in  which  unjust  men  will 
appreciate  the  eminent  services  you  are  to-day  ren- 


308  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^JME 

dering  to  your  country.  .  .  .  Any  moderation  for 
which  you  are  blamed,  the  King  will  be  blamed  for. 
Constant  efforts  will  be  made  to  withdraw  him  from 
the  course  which  his  reason  and  information  have 
themselves  laid  down  for  him.  A  constitutional 
king  seems  to  men  of  limited  understanding  a  king 
without  power  and  without  energy.  If  the  present 
ministry  permits  itself  to  be  drawn  along  by  the 
current,  it  will  end  by  belonging  to  the  party  of 
exaggeration.  Man  does  not  always  know  the 
import  of  the  vows  he  takes." 

Forgetful  of  the  fact  that  he  had  drawn  up  and 
signed  the  lists  of  proscribed  on  the  24th  of  July, 
the  Duke  of  Otranto  ended  his  despatch,  or  rather 
his  apology,  with  the  following  words :  "  It  was  not 
disorder  alone  that  we  had  to  repress ;  order  had  to 
be  established  in  a  stable  manner,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary to  give  great  moral  force  and  authority  to  the 
King.  In  order  to  do  this,  we  thought  there  was 
nothing  better  than  to  pacify  France  with  thoughts 
of  security,  pardon,  and  tolerance,  and  by  instilling 
the  belief  that  there  could  not  be  too  large  forgetful- 
ness  of  the  past,  and  that  guarantees  of  security 
could  not  be  too  greatly  multiplied." 

This  justification  of  his  conduct  was  but  pains 
wasted.  Fouch^,  Duke  of  Otranto,  and  minister  of 
France  at  Dresden,  was  to  be  stricken  down  by  the 
law  against  regicides.  On  the  4th  of  January, 
1816,  the  Duke  of  Richelieu  wrote  to  him:  "My 
Lord    Duke:     I    have    the    honor    to    inform    you 


FOUCHE  809 

that  the  King  has  decided  to  terminate  the  mission 
with  which  you  have  been  charged  at  the  court  at 
Dresden.  I  send  herewith  the  letters  of  recall 
which  His  Majesty  has  on  this  occasion  sent  to  His 
Majesty,  the  King  of  Saxony."  The  other  day  we 
said  to  ourselves  on  looking  at  this  short  and  dry 
letter:  "So,  this  was  the  end  of  that  noisy  and 
troubled  career.  A  few  official  lines  copied  down 
by  an  employee  of  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs ; 
thenceforth  nothing,  nothing  but  exile  and  oblivion. 
He  who  yesterday  proscribed  is  himself  proscribed 
to-morrow.  Why  struggle  so  hard  to  reach  such  a 
goal  at  last?" 


MARSHAL  NEY 

"T"DEAS  of  right  and  duty,"  says  M.  Guizot, 
_J_  "sentiments  of  respect  and  of  fidelity,  were 
confused  and  conflicting  in  many  minds.  So  to 
speak,  there  were  then  two  real  and  natural  gov- 
ernments face  to  face,  and  many  minds  might  easily, 
and  without  perverseness,  be  perplexed  as  to  which 
should  be  chosen.  Louis  XVIII.  and  his  advisers 
might,  therefore,  and  in  their  turn  and  without 
weakness,  have  taken  this  moral  perturbation  into 
consideration.  Marshal  Ney  is  the  most  signal 
illustration  of  it.  The  greater  the  harm  he  had 
done  the  King,  the  easier  would  it  have  been,  with- 
out danger,  to  use  clemency  as  well  as  justice, 
and  to  show  towards  him,  when  he  was  condemned, 
that  magnanimity  of  head  and  heart  which  is  so 
efficacious  both  in  establishing  power  and  command- 
ing fidelity.  Even  the  violence  of  the  royalist  re- 
action, the  fierceness  of  party  spirit,  and  the  thirst 
for  chastisement  and  vengeance,  would  have  given 
to  that  act  additional  brilliancy  and  effect,  for  they 
would  have  signalized  the  return  of  manliness  and 
liberty." 

810 


MARSHAL  NET  311 


The  Restoration  did  not  comprehend  that  if  there 
was  one  man  that  should  be  pardoned,  it  was  the 
man  Avho,  in  a  nation  justly  celebrated  for  courage, 
was  called  "the  bravest  of  the  brave." 

Notwithstanding  the  capitulation  of  the  3d  of 
July,  1815,  which  gave  him  legal  protection  from 
all  prosecution,  Marshal  Ney  withdrew  from  Paris, 
at  the  instance  of  his  family.  He  took  with  him 
but  little  luggage,  but  was  unwilling  to  leave 
behind  him  the  Egyptian  sabre  that  the  First 
Consul  had  given  him  in  July,  1802.  He  went  to 
the  waters  of  Saint-Alban,  near  Roanne,  where  he 
remained  till  the  25th  of  July.  Then  he  sought 
refuge  in  a  chateau  near  Aurillac,  which  belonged 
to  one  of  his  wife's  relatives.  There  he  lived 
secluded  in  an  upper  chamber  from  which  he  did 
not  emerge  when  there  were  strangers  in  the  house. 
But  he  had  the  imprudence  to  leave  on  a  sofa  his 
beautiful  Egyptian  sabre,  the  gift  of  Napoleon. 
The  richness  of  the  weapon  excited  the  attention 
of  a  visitor,  who,  on  the  next  day,  gave  a  description 
of  it  at  a  house  in  Aurillac.  From  the  details 
that  he  gave,  another  person  concluded  that  the 
sabre  could  belong  only  to  Ney  or  Murat.  This  was 
reported  to  the  prefect  of  Cantal,  who  sent  fourteen 
gendarmes  to  the  chateau  Bessanis  to  arrest  the 
marshal.  They  came  on  the  5th  of  July  and  found 
the  proscribed  man  walking  quietly  in  a  courtyard. 
It  was  he  to  whom  they  first  explained  their  errand. 
"I  am  Marshal  Ney,"  answered  the  bravest  of  the 


812  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

bi-ave,  and  he  was  taken  to  Paris  as  a  prisoner.  At 
some  leagues'  distance  from  tlie  capital  the  mar- 
shal's wife  met  them,  and  when  he  saw  the  beloved 
companion  of  his  glory  and  his  misfortunes,  he 
could  not  control  his  emotion.  His  eyes  filled  with 
tears. 

"For  lion  hearts  are  father  hearts." 

"Do  not  be  surprised,"  said  he  to  his  captors;  "I 
am  not  brave  when  I  think  of  my  wife  and  chil- 
dren." 

Upon  learning  of  the  marshal's  arrest,  Louis 
XVIII.  cried  with  rare  good  sense:  "He  does  us 
more  injury  to-day  by  permitting  himself  to  be 
taken  than  he  did  on  the  14th  of  March."  It  was 
thought  desirable  to  bring  him  at  once  before  a 
council  of  war  composed  of  French  marshals.  Mar- 
shal Moncey,  Duke  of  Con^gliano,  who  held  the 
seniority,  refused  to  take  part  in  the  council  of  war, 
and  for  this  refusal  he  was  deprived  of  his  rank  as 
marshal  by  an  order  of  the  29th  of  August,  1815, 
and  condemned  to  imprisonment  for  three  months  in 
the  fortress  of  Ham. 

Some  days  afterward  Marshal  Mortier,  Duke  of 
Treviso,  received  a  visit  from  M.  Dupin  at  his 
house  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Honord.  There  was  a 
portrait  of  Mortier  in  the  splendid  uniform  of  a 
marshal  of  the  Empire  in  all  his  decorations,  and 
opposite  was  a  picture  of  his  father,  a  venerable  old 
man  with  long  hair  and  dressed  in  farmer's  clothes. 


MARSHAL  NEY  313 


"You  see  there,"  lie  said,  with  emotion  to  h.\& 
visitor,  "my  father's  picture  and  my  own.  I  will 
undergo  every  disgrace,  —  they  may  render  me  des- 
titute; it  is  nothing.  I  will  leave  everything;  I 
will  assume  the  garb  and  take  up  the  occupations 
and  toils  of  that  good  man,  rather  than  condemn 
Marshal  Ney.     I  know  I  can  work." 

In  the  salons  there  was  no  pity.  M.  de  Viel- 
Castel  says  that  women  of  the  sweetest  disposition 
on  ordinary  occasions  became  transformed  into  veri- 
table furies,  and  without  the  least  scruple  gave 
expression  to  their  impatience  for  blood.  The 
investigation  lasted  for  more  than  three  months. 
When  it  was  remarked  by  somebody  that  it  was 
rather  barbarous  to  prolong  by  empty  temporizing 
the  life  of  a  man  whose  fate  was  no  longer  in  doubt, 
"Well,  then!  "cried  one  of  the  women,  "don't  let 
him  languish,  nor  us  either." 

The  fury  of  these  demoniacs,  of  whom  more  than 
one  had  been  at  the  feet  of  Napoleon  and  both  his 
Empresses,  excited  horror.  "  Oh  I  "  as  Madame  de 
R^musat  with  good  reason  wrote  to  her  son,  who  had 
told  her  about  the  "bloodthirsty  speeches"  of  these 
charming  dames,  "  I  am  as  angry  as  you  at  the  rage 
of  all  those  women,  whether  they  have  blue  eyes  or 
black.  When  an  unfortunate  criminal  is  crushed 
by  justice,  one  should  be  silent  and  leave  him  to 
the  tribunal  whose  duty  it  is  to  decide  his  fate,  and 
to  God  who  probably  has  often  overruled  the  judg- 
ment of  man.     Revolutions  surround  men  with  such 


314  THE  DUCUESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

difficult  circumstances  that  though  kings  may  be 
pardoned  for  severity  employed  to  render  states 
secure,  the  public  should  be  indulgent.  But  this 
maxim  is  out  of  date,  and  charity  no  longer  is 
classed  among  the  Christian  duties.  I  wish  that 
women  could  be  persuaded  that  these  hateful  pas- 
sions mar  them  much.  Surely,  my  friend,  love 
would  be  much  more  becoming  to  them  and,  pas- 
sion for  passion,  hatred  will  the  more  surely  drag 
them  to  hell."  Shame  to  the  Red  Terror!  Shame 
to  the  White  Terror!  Shame  to  the  great  ladies 
who  by  their  cruelty  became  imitators  of  the  knit- 
ting women  of  1793!  Both  are  a  disgrace  to  their 
sex. 

The  jurisdiction  of  a  council  of  war  composed  of 
marshals  being  out  of  the  question,  the  Duke  of 
Richelieu  said  in  the  Chamber  of  Peers  on  the  11th 
of  November,  1815 :  "  Not  only  in  the  King's  name, 
but  in  the  name  of  France,  so  long  treated  with 
indignity  and  now  in  a  stupor,  let  us  fulfil  the 
duties  of  the  administration  of  public  justice.  In 
the  name  of  Europe  we  come  at  once  to  conjure  and 
to  require  you  to  decide  the  question  of  Marshal 
Ney."  The  Duke  of  Richelieu  opened  his  ministry 
disadvantageously  by  speaking  as  prosecutor,  —  he 
whose  heart  was  generous,  —  and  by  making  against 
"  the  bravest  of  the  brave, "  an  address  which,  it  is 
said,  he  did  not  write,  and  which  he  subsequently 
regretted.  On  the  next  day  people  said:  "Have 
you  read  the  ukase  of  the  Duke  of  Richelieu  ?  "  the 


MARSHAL  NEY  315 


allusion  being  to  the  fact  that  he  had  been  governor 
of  the  Crimea  during  the  emigration. 

Debate  began  in  the  Chamber  of  Peers  on  the  21st 
of  November,  1815.  During  the  foregoing  night 
the  accused  had  been  transferred  from  his  prison, 
the  Conciergerie,  m  the  Luxembourg,  where  the 
Peers  held  their  sessions.  In  places  reserved  for 
them  were  the  Prince  Royal  of  Wurtemberg,  Prince 
Metternich,  the  foreign  diplomats,  and  English  and 
Russian  generals.  When  the  marshal  appeared,  in 
the  custody  of  four  grenadiers  of  the  guard,  his 
calm  and  martial  attitude  produced  a  vivid  impres- 
sion even  on  his  bitterest  enemies.  He  came  as  the 
incarnation  of  a  defeat  terrible  but  glorious,  —  the 
defeat  of  Waterloo.  People  remembered  that  on 
that  day,  seven  times  unhorsed,  covered  with  blood 
and  powder,  on  foot  and  sword  in  hand,  he  had  said, 
alas !  in  vain :  "  My  friends,  you  shall  see  how  a  mar- 
shal of  France  dies !  "  It  might  be  said  that  all  the 
sufferings,  all  the  griefs,  all  the  disasters,  of  the 
beaten-down  and  vanquished  fatherland  were  concen- 
trated in  his  person. 

There  was  a  second  public  session  on  the  23d  of 
November,  and  a  third  on  the  4th  of  December. 
Witnesses  were  heard  on  the  latter  day.  The  most 
important  of  them  was  General  de  Bourmont,  the 
same  who  on  the  14th  of  March,  at  Lons-le-Saulnier, 
did  not  abandon  the  marshal,  and  who,  after  asking 
the  Emperor  for  a  command,  went  over  to  the  enemy 
on  the  15th  of  June,  —  that  is  to  say,   three  days 


316      THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOVLtME 

before  Waterloo.  Ney  could  not  contain  himself 
when  he  found  his  former  lieutenant  a  witness 
against  him.  He  burst  out  in  a  fury  of  indigna- 
tion: "The  witness  has  been  preparing  his  thesis 
for  the  last  eight  months,  and  has  had  time  to  make 
it  a  good  one.  When  he  was  getting  up  his  denun- 
ciations at  Lille  he  probably  imagined  that  I  would 
be  treated  like  Lab^doyere,  and  that  he  and  I  would 
never  meet  face  to  face.  But  he  was  wrong.  I 
have  no  talent  for  speech-making;  I  go  directly  to 
the  point.  It  is  a  fact  that  on  the  14th  of  March  I 
had  an  interview  with  the  witness  in  the  presence 
of  General  Lacourbe.  It  is  hard  that  Lacourbe 
should  be  dead;  but  I  appeal  against  all  this  testi- 
mony to  a  higher  tribunal,  —  to  God  who  hears  and 
will  judge  us,  —  judge  both  you  and  me.  Monsieur 
de  Bourmont!  " 

After  this  apostrophe,  the  accused  told  the  history 
of  his  defection  at  Lons-le-Saulnier.  According  to 
his  account,  he  had  called  Lacourbe  and  Bourmont, 
his  two  generals  of  division,  shown  them  the 
draught  of  his  imperialist  proclamation,  and  asked 
them,  on  their  word  of  honor,  what  they  thought 
about  it.  General  Lacourbe  made  a  brief  and  eva- 
sive reply,  but  General  Bourmont  approved  of  the 
draught,  induced  the  marshal  to  read  it  to  the 
troops,  and  engaged  to  win  them  over.  "He  had 
two  hours  to  reflect,"  added  the  accused.  "As  to 
myself,  did  any  one  say:  'What  are  you  about  to 
do  ?    You  are  risking  j'our  honor  and  reputation  in 


MARSHAL   NET  317 


this  desperate  course !  '  No !  I  found  only  men  who 
urged  me  towards  the  abyss.  ...  I  did  not  even 
know  where  Bourmont's  troops  were.  If  he  thought 
I  was  doing  wrong,  he  was  free  to  arrest  me.  With 
his  large  command  he  could  have  done  so,  and  I  was 
alone,  without  officers,  and  without  a  single  saddle- 
horse  to  escape  on.  But  he  was  shrewd,  and  con- 
ducted the  affair  very  ably.  I  wanted  very  much 
that  he  should  lodge  at  my  quarters,  but  he 
declined,  and  took  refuge  with  the  prefect,  the  Mar- 
quis of  Vaulchier,  and  together  they  arranged  to 
watch  the  progress  of  events,  and,  in  any  case,  to 
leave  themselves  a  door  of  escape.  When  the  troops 
were  assembled,  Bourmont  and  Lacourbe  put  me  at 
the  head  of  a  body  of  officers  and  conducted  me  to 
the  middle  of  the  square,  where  I  read  the  procla- 
mation. Soldiers  and  officers  alike  ran  to  us, 
embraced  and  almost  stifled  us  with  their  demon- 
strations. The  troops  dispersed  in  good  order. 
The  superior  officers  came  to  dine  with  me.  I 
was  dejected,  but,  if  Bourmont  means  that,  the 
guests  were  cheerful.  That  is  the  truth  of  the 
matter. " 

While  General  Bourmont  and  Marshal  Ney  were 
face  to  face  before  the  Chamber,  many  a  judge  said 
to  himself :  "  Why  did  Bourmont  ask  the  Emperor 
for  a  command  during  the  Hundred  Days,  when  he 
was  not  obliged  to  do  so  ?  Why  did  he  take  Gen- 
eral Lab<5doyere  as  a  pledge  of  his  fidelity  to  the 
imperial  eagles  ?     Why  did  he  go  over  to  the  enemy 


318  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULJtME 

on  the   eve   of  Waterloo?     And  yet   Bourmont  is 
loaded  with  honors,  and  Ney  is  to  be  shot!  " 

The  chancellor  asked  the  witness  why,  after  dis- 
approving, as  he  pretended,  of  the  resolution  taken 
by  the  accused,  he  accompanied  him  to  Lons-le- 
Saulnier,  where  the  troops  were  gathered.  Bour- 
mont answered  that  he  wished  to  see  what  would  be 
the  effect  of  the  reading  of  the  proclamation  by  the 
marshal,  and  thus  be  able  to  give  the  King  an  exact 
account  of  all  that  took  place. 

The  accused  then  spoke  again,  and  strenuously 
denied  what  the  witness  had  asserted,  namely,  that 
to  his  knowledge  the  marshal,  while  reading  the 
proclamation,  wore  the  decoration  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor  with  the  Emperor's  picture  on  it.  "Gen- 
eral," he  cried,  "it  is  infamous  to  say  that  1  had 
already  the  design  of  becoming  a  traitor."  Then  he 
recalled  the  fact  that  when  a  colonel  came  to  him  to 
offer  his  resignation  rather  than  join  in  the  defec- 
tion, he  had  freely  permitted  him  to  go  away.  * 
Why  did  not  Bourmont  act  in  the  same  way ?  "I 
had  no  guard,"  he  added,  looking  the  witness  in  the 
face.  "  You  yourself  might  have  arrested  and  killed 
me ;  you  would  have  done  me  a  great  service  by  doing 
so,  and  perhaps  you  would  have  done  your  duty." 

Bourmont  having  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
marshal  would  probably  have  saved  the  day  for  the 
royalists  if  he  had  taken  a  musket  and,  at  the  head 
of  his  troops,  at  once  charged  Napoleon,  Ney  replied : 
"Would  you   have  done  so,  had  you  been  in  my 


MARSHAL  NEY  319 


place?  No;  I  do  not  believe  you  capable  of  it;  you 
have  not  character  enough." 

M.  Berryer,  the  elder,  who,  with  M.  Dupin,  was 
counsel  for  the  accused,  asked  the  witness  the  fol- 
lowing question,  which  ended  the  inquisition: 
"When  everybody  was  shouting  'Long  live  the 
Emperor! '  did  you,  M.  de  Bourmont,  cry  'Long 
live  the  King?'" 

The  session  of  the  5th  of  December  was  busied 
with  the  capitulation  of  Paris  on  the  3d  of  July, 
1815,  the  twelfth  article  of  which  read  as  follows: 
"  The  inhabitants  and,  in  general,  all  who  were 
within  the  capital  shall  continue  to  enjoy  their 
rights  and  liberties  without  being  liable  to  be  dis- 
turbed or  questioned  as  to  anything  that  they  are 
doing  or  may  have  done,  or  as  to  their  conduct  or 
political  opinions."  One  of  the  plenipotentiaries 
who  had  signed  the  treaty  of  the  3d  of  July,  namely, 
General  Guillemont  was  interrogated  by  Chan- 
cellor Dambray,  and  answered  thus:  "As  chief  of 
the  general  staff  I  was  instructed  to  stipulate  for 
amnesty  to  all,  whatever  might  be  their  opinions, 
functions,  or  conduct.  Amnesty  was  not  accorded 
without  opposition.  I  was  ordered  to  break  off  all 
negotiation  if  the  terms  were  not  accepted;  the 
army  was  ready  to  show  fight;  it  was  this  article 
that  induced  it  to  lay  down  its  arms." 

Marshal  Davoust,  Prince  of  Eckmiihl,  declared 
that  he  instructed  the  plenipotentiaries  to  withdraw 
from  the  conferences  if  the  clauses  proposed  by  him 


320  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

to  insure  tbe  safety  of  persons  and  property  shviuld 
not  be  accepted.  M.  Berry er,  the  elder,  then  asked 
the  witness  to  say  what  he  would  have  done  in  case 
of  refusal.  Marshal  Davoust  answered  that  he 
would  have  given  battle  as  he  had  a  fine  and  well- 
disciplined  army  consisting  of  sixty-five  thousand 
infantry,  twenty-five  thousand  cavalry,  and  four  or 
five  hundred  cannon.  "The  capitulation,"  ex- 
claimed Marshal  Ney,  "was  protective  to  such  a 
degree  that  I  counted  on  it.  Without  it  can  any 
one  suppose  that  I  would  not  have  pie/'^erred  to  die, 
sword  in  hand  ?  " 

At  the  close  of  the  hearing  on  the  5th  of  Decem- 
ber, M.  Bellart,  the  public  prosecutor,  thus  opened 
his  ridiculously  declamatory  address:  "Gentlemen, 
when  in  the  recesses  of  deserts  once  covered  with 
populous  cities,  the  philosophic  wanderer  who  has 
been  led  thither  by  his  insatiable  curiosity — -an  at- 
tribute, gentlemen,  so  characteristic  of  our  species  — ■ 
perceives  the  melancholy  remains  of  those  celebrated 
monuments  constructed  during  remote  ages  in  the 
fatuous  hope  of  braving  the  jaws  of  time,  and  which 
now  are  but  formless  masses  of  ruins  and  dust,  he 
cannot  escape  being  plunged  into  profound  melan- 
choly as  he  reflects  upon  what  is  the  end  of  human 
pride  and  its  achievements.  How  much  more  crush- 
ing to  the  feelings  of  him  who  loves  his  fellow-men 
is  the  spectacle  of  the  ruins  of  a  splendid  fame 
fallen  into  opprobrium  through  its  own  fault !  " 

The  last  session  was  held  on  the  following  day, 


MJHSUAL   NET  321 


the  6th  of  December.  It  lasted  live  hours,  and  did 
not  end  till  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  Decem- 
ber the  7th.  What  had  been  the  attitude  of  more 
than  one  great  lady  for  the  last  few  days?  Lamar- 
tine,  who  belonged  to  Louis  XVIII. 's  body-guard, 
says:  "The  life  accorded  to  the  hero  of  Beresina 
seemed  a  theft  committed  against  the  law  of  repri- 
sal. In  the  salons  of  the  aristocracy  people  clamored 
around  the  King's  ministers,  demanding  the  hero's 
blood  as  if  for  a  personal  favor.  Women  of  the 
highest  rank,  young,  beautiful,  rich,  laden  with  gifts, 
favors,  titles,  and  dignities  by  the  court,  forgot 
their  families,  their  pleasures,  their  indolence,  and 
their  amours,  and  ran  about  from  morning  till  night 
if  so  be  they  might  prevent  a  single  vote  in  favor  of 
mercy  or  secure  one  in  favor  of  punishment.  We 
ourselves  have  observed  with  grief  and  astonish- 
ment, the  runnings  about,  the  petitions,  and  the 
hands  of  these  women  clasped  in  suppliance  for 
concessions  which  they  implored  for  the  satisfaction 
of  their  hate.  We  blush  for  them  yet.  Who  need 
be  astounded  at  the  brutal  ferocities  of  the  masses, 
when  rank,  fortune,  and  courts  become  possessed  by 
such  reckless  inhumanity,  such  frenzies  of  rage,  and 
such  thirst  for  blood  on  the  day  of  vengeance  ?  " 

Alas !  the  cruel  passions  of  these  women  were  to 
be  satisfied.  The  chancellor  did  not  even  permit 
the  defence  to  argue  from  the  capitulation  of  Paris. 
Another  treaty  covered  the  mai-shal,  —  that  of  thp 
20th  of  November,  1815.     The  marshal  was  born  in 


322  THE  nucuEss  of  angoulAme 

1769,  —  in  the  same  year  as  Napoleon, — at  Sarre- 
louis,  and,  by  the  treaty  of  the  20th  of  November, 
1815,  that  city  was  ceded  to  Prussia.  It  was  stipu- 
lated in  the  documents,  that  "any  person  born  in 
the  countries  ceded  or  restored  should  not  be 
annoyed  or  troubled  in  his  person  because  of  his 
acts  or  political  opinions."  M.  Dupin  made  a  point 
of  this.  "Marshal  Ney,"  said  the  lawyer,  "is  under 
the  protection  not  only  of  French  law,  but  under 
that  of  the  law  of  nations.  He  has  always  been 
French  at  heart,  but  he  was  born  in  a  country  which 
no  longer  belongs  to  the  King  of  France."  Then 
the  marshal,  much  excited,  cried  out :  "  I  am  French 
and  I  shall  die  a  Frenchman !  "  He  then  read  the 
following  protest :  "  Hitherto  my  defence  has  seemed 
to  be  unrestricted,  but  now  it  is  hampered.  I  thank 
my  generous  defenders  for  what  they  have  done,  and 
what  they  are  ready  to  do,  but  I  beg  them  rather  to 
cease  entirely  from  defending  me  than  to  defend  me 
imperfectly.  I  would  rather  not  be  defended  at  all 
than  to  have  only  the  simulacrum  of  a  defence.  I 
was  brought  to  trial  contrary  to  the  faith  of  treaties, 
and  I  will  not  invoke  them.  I  appeal  to  Europe 
and  to  posterity." 

A  hundred  and  thirty-nine  peers  voted  for  death. 
Among  them  were  many  of  the  marshal's  old  com- 
rades in  arms,  such  as  Marshals  Kellermann,  P^rig- 
non,  S^ruri^r,  Victor,  and  Marmont,  and  Generals  de 
Beurnonville,  Dessoles,  Maison,  de  La  Tour-Mau- 
bourg,  Lauriston,  and  still  othei-s.     Seventeen  peers 


MARSHAL  NEY  323 


voted  for  banishment:  MM.  Porcher  de  Ricbebourg, 
de  Maleville,  Lenoir-Laroche,  Lemercier,  Lanjui- 
nais,  General  Klein,  Herwyn,  General  Gouvion- 
Saint-Cyr,  Calaud,  Chollet,  General  Chasseloiip- 
Laubat,  Berthollet,  the  Duke  of  Broglie,  Lally, 
General  Ciirial,  Fontanes,  and  the  Duke  of  Mont- 
morency. Five  peers  who  voted  for  death  added  a 
recommendation  to  the  mercy  of  the  King.  These 
were  Marshal  Marmont,  General  Dessoles,  and  MM. 
de  la  Tour  du  Pin,  Emmery,  and  Beaumont.  Five 
peers  abstained  from  voting,  —  MM.  de  Choiseul,  de 
Sainte-Suzanne,  de  Brigode,  d'Aligre,  and  de  Nico- 
lai.  "Clement  but  timid  neutrality,"  says  Lamar- 
tine,  "which  neither  smites  nor  spares,  but  which 
is  never  permissible  between  the  sword  and  the 
victim." 

The  conduct  of  the  young  Duke  of  Broglie,  who 
then  voted  for  the  first  time  in  the  Chamber  of 
Peers,  was  specially  honorable.  The  chancellors 
first  put  the  question  of  fact :  "  Did  the  marshal  read 
to  the  troops  the  proclamation  hereunto  ad  joined  ?  " 
Of  what  effect  would  it  have  been  to  say  yes,  when 
the  accused  himself  had  admitted  the  fact?  The 
question  of  law  was  then  proposed:  "In  doing  so, 
was  the  marshal  guilty  of  high  treason?"  Upon 
this,  the  Duke  rose  and  replied:  "No."  In  his 
Souvenirs  he  writes :  "  I  owe  it  to  the  Chambers  to 
testify  that  the  temerity,  and,  in  view  of  the  times 
and  circumstances,  I  may  almost  say  the  scandal,  of 
my  vote  excited   neither  exclamation   nor  murmur 


324  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

and  that  at  the  close  of  the  session  no  one  stood 
aloof  from  me  or  was  cooler  than  usual.  Meanwhile 
we  must  all  live,  and  at  that  time  we  lived  in  an 
atmosphere  of  intimidation  that  was  stifling.  I  cite 
only  one  example. 

"  Among  the  old  senators  who  still  sat  in  the  new 
Chamber  of  Peers,  was  a  little  general  named  Gou- 
vion,  but  who,  I  think,  was  not  related  to  the  mar- 
shal. I  had  known  him  at  Antwerp,  where  he 
was  in  command  at  the  time  M.  d'Argenson  lived 
there  as  prefect,  and  I  often  conversed  with  him. 
Some  time  before  the  opening  of  the  session,  I  saw 
the  little  man  fidgeting  in  his  seat  as  if  in  pain. 
At  last  he  came  to  me  and  asked  what  I  intended  to 
do, — that  is,  how  I  meant  to  vote.  I  told  him. 
Unquestionably  he  did  not  understand  me  fully, 
although  he  said:  'I  shall  do  the  same.' — 'Very 
well,'  said  I;  'then  sit  down  here  beside  me;  we 
will  encourage  each  other.'  He  sat  down,  but, 
when  the  question  of  culpability  was  put,  he  said 
*yes,'  like  all  who  had  preceded  him.  And  when 
the  time  came  to  vote  as  to  the  punishment,  he  said 
'death!'  in  the  same  way.  Poor  man!  Precisely 
the  same  thing  happened  to  him  that  had  happened 
to  Marshal  Ney  on  the  plain  of  Lons-le-Saulnier." 

When  the  verdict  was  rendered,  Count  de  Roche- 
chouart,  commandant  of  Paris,  to  whom  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  execution  of  the  prisoner  were  as- 
signed, proceeded  to  take  possession  of  the  Luxem- 
bourg, and  there  keep  guard  over  the  doomed  man. 


VI 

THE  DEATH   OF   MAKSHAL   KEY 

IT  had  been  decided  that  the  accused  should  not 
be  present  when  sentence  was  passed.  He 
withdrew  before  the  vote  and  was  taken  back  to  the 
prison  of  the  Luxembourg,  where  he  was  to  pass 
the  night.  He  asked  for  dinner  and  ate  with  good 
appetite.  On  seeing  that  a  small  knife  which  he 
was  using  put  his  jailors  in  fear  lest  he  should 
commit  suicide  with  it,  he  threw  it  aside.  After 
dinner  he  smoked  a  cigar  and  then  threw  himself 
down  fully  dressed,  and  fell  into  a  deep  sleep.  At 
half  after  three  in  the  morning  he  was  roused  by 
M.  Cauchy,  secretary  of  archives  to  the  Chamber  of 
Peers,  who  had  come  to  read  the  death  warrant. 
Before  beginning,  M.  Cauchy  tried  to  speak  some 
kind  words  in  order  to  show  his  regret  at  being 
obliged  to  come  on  such  a  mission.  "Sir,"  said  the 
marshal,  "do  your  duty.  Every  one  must  do  his 
duty.     Read." 

When,  as  he  proceeded  to  read,  the  clerk  came  to 
the  enumeration  of  the  titles  and  style  of  the  con- 
demned, the  marshal  interrupted  him  with  these 
words:    "Say   Michel   Ney,  soon  to  be  a  pinch  of 

325 


326  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

dust."  When  told  that  he  was  at  liberty  to  say 
farewell  to  his  wife  and  children,  he  requested  that 
word  should  be  sent  to  them  to  come  between  six 
and  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  "I  trust,"  he 
said,  "  that  your  note  will  not  tell  my  wife  that  her 
husband  is  condemned;  it  is  for  me  to  tell  her  of 
my  fate." 

M.  Cauchy  then  withdrew.  The  marshal  lay 
down  again  with  his  clothes  on,  and  went  to  sleep. 
In  a  short  time  he  was  again  roused  by  the  arrival 
of  his  wife,  accompanied  by  his  four  sons  and 
Madame  Gamot,  her  sister.  On  entering  the  room, 
the  unfortunate  woman,  who  was  soon  to  be  made 
a  widow,  fell  rigid  to  the  floor.  The  marshal  raised 
her  with  the  assistance  of  his  keepers.  Tears  and 
sobs  succeeded  to  a  long  swoon.  Madame  Gamot 
was  on  her  knees  in  a  condition  not  less  deplorable 
than  that  of  her  sister.  The  marshal  tenderly 
embraced  his  four  sons.  Napoleon,  Michel,  Eugene, 
and  Edgar  Ney.  The  eldest  (who  died  in  1857,  a 
general  and  a  senator,  and  whose  sister  married  the 
Duke  of  Persigny)  was  twelve  years  old.  The 
youngest  (who  was  a  general,  senator,  and  master 
of  the  hounds  during  the  reign  of  Napoleon  III., 
and  who  married  the  widow  of  the  son  of  General 
Lab^doy^re)  was  only  three  years  of  age. 

The  unhappy  father  who,  like  all  heroic  natures, 
was  as  tender-hearted  as  he  was  energetic  and  brave, 
took  the  four  boys  on  his  knee,  one  after  the  other, 
and,  speaking  in  a  low  voice,  gave  them  the  last 


THE  DEATH  OF  MARSHAL   NEY  327 

counsels  of  paternal  love.  The  last  accents  of  that 
sweet  and  strong  voice  were  to  remain  forever  an 
ineffaceable  memory  in  the  hearts  of  the  children. 

Meantime  the  condemned  man,  who  saw  that  his 
wife  was  giving  way  to  despair,  was  desirous  of  end- 
ing adieux  so  harrowing,  and,  that  he  might  lighten 
the  wretched  woman's  grief,  he  endeavored  to  instil 
into  her  a  hope  in  which  he  himself  had  no  share. 
Leaning  towards  his  sister-in-law,  he  said  so  that 
his  wife  might  hear  it,  that  if  that  unhappy  lady 
should  go  to  the  Tuileries  without  a  moment's  loss 
of  time,  she  might  perhaps  see  the  King  and  secure 
a  pardon.  Then  came  the  last  embrace,  and  the  wife 
went  away  with  her  sons  and  her  sister,  and'  in  all 
haste  sought  the  palace  of  Louis  XVIII.  The  con- 
demned man  was  not  under  the  least  illusion  in 
regard  to  his  fate.  He  had  advised  his  wife's  act 
only  in  order  that  she  might  be  willing  to  with- 
draw. After  she  had  gone  he  sat  down  at  a  table 
and  made  his  will. 

So  great  was  the  apprehension  caused  by  the  pres- 
tige that  the  bravest  of  the-  brave  had  among  the 
troops,  and  so  pressing  was  the  fear  lest  he  might 
yet  escape,  that  his  keepers  were  body-guards  dis- 
guised in  the  uniform  of  grenadiers.  Lamartine, 
who  belonged  to  the  body-guard  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Restoration,  said  of  these  masquerading  war- 
dens :  "  They  were  young  and  amiable  noblemen, 
the  61ite  of  their  companies,  and  of  incorruptible 
honesty,  and  utterly  incapable  of  insulting  a  captive 


328  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

whose  fate  they  deplored  and  whose  glory  was  their 
admiration.  Although  they  were  officers  they  were 
dressed  in  the  uniform  of  simple  mounted  grenadiers 
of  the  royal  guard.  In  this  costume,  they  went 
among  the  gendarmes  and  other  people  whose  duty 
it  was  to  keep  watch  over  the  prisoner;  they 
guarded  him  in  his  room  and  conversed  familiarly 
with  him,  not  to  embitter,  but  to  distract  and  cheer 
his  loneliness.  They  encouraged  him  to  hope  and 
flattered  themselves  that  the  marshal,  condemned 
and  pardoned  by  the  King,  would,  under  better  stars, 
remember  them  as  comforters  in  his  evil  days.  It  is 
from  their  own  lips  that  we  received  these  confi- 
dences.'" 

When  the  condemned  man  had  ended  his  will,  one 
of  the  guards  said  to  him:  "Marshal,  in  your  ex- 
tremity would  it  not  be  well  to  think  of  God?  It  is 
always  a  good  thing  to  become  reconciled  to  God." 
The  marshal  paused,  looked  at  his  interlocutor  and 
said,  after  a  moment's  silence:  "You  are  right;  yes, 
you  are  right.  One  should  die  like  an  honest  man 
and  a  Christian;  I  should  like  to  see  the  cur^  of 
Saint-Sulpice."  Some  minutes  afterwards  the  Abb^ 
Depierre,  cur^  of  that  parish,  entered  the  con- 
demned man's  room  and  heard  his  confession.  At 
the  end  of  three-quarters  of  an  hour  the  venerable 
priest  withdrew,  promising  to  return  and  assist  the 
marshal  in  his  last  moments. 

Meanwhile  the  marshal's  wife  and  her  four  poor 
little  children  had  arrived  at  the  Tuileries.     Before 


THE  DEATH  OF  MARSHAL   NET  329 


daybreak  the  suppliant  family  contrived  to  make 
their  way  as  far  as  the  rooms  adjoining  the  apart- 
ments of  the  King  and  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme. 
Would  the  orphan  of  the  Temple  intervene  to  pre- 
vent the  four  children  from  becoming  orphans? 
Would  she  remember  that  the  bravest  of  the  brave 
and  the  martyred  Queen  had  occupied  the  same 
prison,  the  Conciergerie  ?  Would  the  farewells  but 
now  spoken  by  the  marshal  recall  to  the  Princess 
those  of  her  father,  Louis  XVI.  ?  Would  she  forget 
the  words  of  clemency  and  pardon  spoken  by  the 
victim  before  mounting  the  scaffold  on  the  21st  of 
January  ?  Could  she  forget,  too,  that  the  marshal's 
wife  was  the  daughter  of  the  unfortunate  Madame 
Auguid,  sister  of  Madame  Campan ;  of  that  Madame 
Augui<5  who  was  Marie  Antoinette's  lady  of  the  bed- 
chamber, and  who  went  mad  with  grief  when  she 
learned  of  the  Queen's  execution,  and  so  killed  her- 
self? And  the  marshal's  wife  thought:  "No;  it  is 
impossible  that  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  who  is 
generous  and  good,  can  fail  to  pity  me.  The  first 
nobleman  of  the  Chamber,  the  Duke  of  Duras, 
allowed  me  to  enter  the  Tuileries.  This  permission 
to  enter  the  chateau  and  almost  reach  the  royal 
apartment  can  be  nothing  less  than  a  tacit  promise 
of  mercy  to  my  husband  and  my  little  ones.  Louis 
XVIII.  is  still  asleep.  When  he  wakes,  it  will  be 
to  pardon." 

The  shadows  of  night  have  passed  away.     Day  is 
beginning   to   dawn,   a   day  sombre,   chill,   wintry. 


330  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUZiME 

It  is  the  7th  of  December.  The  marshal's  wife  is 
waiting.  The  Duchess  of  Angouleme  will  listen 
to  nothing,  will  know  nothing.  Her  door  remains 
closed.  Closed,  too,  is  the  King's  door.  Hour 
follows  hour,  — hours  of  prostration,  of  anguish. 
And  what  is  doing  while  the  poor  wife  waits  there 
so  long? 

It  is  half  after  eight  in  the  morning.  Faithful  to 
his  promise,  the  Abb^  Depierre,  the  cur^  of  Saint- 
Sulpice,  returns  to  the  Luxembourg.  A  carriage 
stands  waiting  for  the  priest  and  the  marshal.  When 
both  are  beside  it,  the  priest  steps  back  to  allow  the 
illustrious  warrior  to  enter  first:  "No,  no,  monsieur, 
get  in  before  me,"  says  the  condemned  man,  and 
then,  looking  towards  heaven,  he  continues,  "  I  shall 
ascend  to  yonder  sky  before  you."  At  the  sound  of 
this  affectionate  dispute,  the  driver  turns  his  head. 
At  the  sight  he  grows  pale  and  falls  from  his  seat. 
'Tis  an  old  soldier  who  recognizes  the  bravest  of  the 
brave.  Vain  efforts  are  made  to  revive  the  coach- 
man, and  the  horses  have  to  be  led  by  the  bridle. 

The  morning  is  cold  and  gloomy.  An  icy  mist 
almost  prevents  the  eye  from  distinguishing  the  leaf- 
less branches  of  the  mighty  trees.  The  horses  move 
slowly.  The  condemned  man  listens  respectfully 
to  the  consoling  words  of  the  priest,  his  last  friend. 
He  believes  that  he  will  be  taken  to  the  plain  of 
Grenelle,  the  common  place  of  execution.  Sud- 
denly the  carriage  stops,  and  enters  the  gate  of  the 
Luxembourg  and  the    Observatory.      The  marshal 


THE  DEATH  OF  MABSHAL   NEY  331 

is  surprised  at  this  halt  at  half  the  distance.  The 
gate  swings  back.  The  marshal  is  requested  to 
alight.  He  sees  that  he  is  not  to  enter  the  carriage 
again.  The  government  feared  that  there  would  be 
a  crowd  at  the  plain  of  Grenelle,  and  therefore  dur- 
ing the  night  it  changed  the  place  of  execution. 

The  marshal  now  gives  his  gold  snuff-box  to  the 
cur^  of  Saint-Sulpice  in  keeping  for  his  wife,  and 
also  some  louis  to  be  distributed  among  the  parish 
poor.  Then,  after  embracing  the  venerable  priest, 
he  walks  firmly  towards  the  platoon  of  veterans 
ranged  before  him.  The  officer  proposes  to  bandage 
his  e3'es.  "Do  you  not  know,"  says  Ney,  "that  for 
twenty  years  I  have  been  accustomed  to  look  straight 
at  bullets  and  cannon-balls?"  Touched  by  such 
pride  and  courage,  the  officer  hesitated  before  giving 
the  word  to  fire.  "Before  God  and  my  country," 
cried  the  noble  victim,  "I  protest  against  the  ver- 
dict that  condemns  me.  I  appeal  to  mankind,  to 
posterity,  to  God.  Long  live  France ! "  General 
de  Rochechouart,  whose  lot  it  is  to  see  that  the 
sentence  is  carried  out,  orders  the  commander  of  the 
platoon  to  do  his  duty.  The  marshal  takes  his  hat 
in  his  left  hand  as  he  held  it  at  the  last  charge  at 
Waterloo,  and,  placing  his  right  on  his  breast,  cries : 
"Soldiers,  straight  at  the  heart  I"  Three  bullets 
strike  him.  It  is  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
The  hero  has  lived  his  life. 

And  still  the  marshal's  wife  waits  for  the  King 
to  rise.     At  last  she  is  told  that  the  audience  she 


332  TUE  DUcnESS  of  angouleme 

seeks  cannot  be  accorded,  for  now  it  would  be 
futile.  At  first  the  poor  widow  does  not  under- 
stand the  words.     They  have  to  be  explained  to  her. 

Conformably  to  the  rules  of  military  executions, 
the  body  of  the  marshal  remained  exposed  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  on  the  place  of  punishment. 
Passers-by  asked  whose  body  was  thus  abandoned  as 
a  public  spectacle.  No  one  dared  to  reply:  "It  is 
Marshal  Ney;  it  is  the  Duke  of  Elchingen;  it  is  the 
Prince  of  Moscow. "  When  the  fifteen  minutes  had 
passed,  a  few  sisters  from  the  neighboring  Charity 
Hospital  went  to  claim  the  body,  and  had  it  borne 
to  their  chapel,  where  they  watched  over  it  in 
prayer. 

Three  hours  afterwards  the  unhappy  widow  had 
an  interview  with  the  cur^  of  Saint-Sulpice  which 
is  thus  described  in  an  unpublished  letter  that  a 
relative  of  the  marshal's  wife  was  good  enough  to 
let  us  see :  "  Paris,  Abbaye-aux-Bois,  December  11, 
1815.  —  Yesterday  the  marshal's  widow  saw  the 
cur^  of  Saint-Sulpice.  The  interview  was  distract- 
ing. She  wished  to  know  all.  It  was  on  their 
knees  that  the  unfortunate  children  heard  the  last 
words  of  their  father.  I  want  to  tell  you  some  of 
the  details  given  by  the  cur^.  They  soothed  and 
softened  her  poignant  grief.  When  the  curd  heard 
of  the  marshal's  sentence,  he  went  to  the  Luxem- 
bourg. As  soon  as  the  marshal  saw  him  he  said:  'I 
counted  on  your  coming,  monsieur.  Your  character 
is  known  to  me.     I  have  often  heard  you  spoken  of, 


THE  DEATH  OF  MARSHAL  NET  333 

and  always  with  praise.  I  wish  to  do  my  duty  as 
a  Christian.  I  was  reared  by  deeply  religious 
parents  and  have  never  forgotten  what  they  taught 
me.  I  can  even  say  that  I  have  never  undertaken 
anything  without  commending  myself  first  to  God. 
If  you  will  hear  me,  I  will  confess.'  At  the 
moment  of  absolution  his  emotion  was  very  great. 
'I  am  deeply  indebted  to  you,'  said  he  to  the  curd; 
'I  am  calm  and  resigned.'  Then  he  gave  the  priest 
what  money  he  had,  asking  him  to  distribute  it 
among  the  poor,  and  to  say  some  masses  for  the 
repose  of  his  soul. 

"When  the  guards  came  to  take  him  to  execu- 
tion, he  was  surprised.  He  had  hoped  to  see  his 
wife  and  children  once  more.  'What! '  said  he  to 
the  curd,  'I  thought  I  was  to  have  twenty-four 
hours. '  '  Within  twenty-four  hours, '  answered  the 
curd. — 'A  few  hours  sooner  or  later;  'tis  all  the 
same ;  I  am  prepared. ' 

"He  had  dreaded  a  civil  execution.  When  he 
saw  the  troops,  his  face  took  on  a  look  of  content. 
He  made  an  exclamation  and  grasped  the  curd's  arm. 
On  reaching  the  fatal  spot,  he  handed  his  snuff-box 
to  the  priest,  begging  him  to  give  it  to  his  wife 
with  his  own  hands.  It  is  said  that  he  fell,  shout- 
ing '  Long  live  France ! '  I  am  sure  that  these 
details  will  do  you  good;  they  will  assuage  your 
grief  by  bringing  tears.  It  is  consoling  to  think 
that  he  died  so  like  a  Christian." 

M.  Guizot  says  in  his  Memoirs:  "Had  Marshal 


334  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

Ney  been  pardoned  and  exiled,  after  his  condemna- 
tion, by  royal  letters  drawn  up  for  weighty  reasons, 
royalty  would  have  risen  like  an  embankment  above 
all,  whether  friends  or  enemies,  to  stay  the  stream 
of  blood,  and  the  reaction  of  1815  would  have  been 
i:)ut  down  and  closed,  as  well  as  the  Hundred  Days." 

M.  de  Lamartine,  who  had  so  energetically 
branded  the  murder  of  the  Duke  of  Enghien,  cen- 
sured with  no  less  eloquence  the  murder  of  Mar- 
shal Ney.  In  his  Histoire  de  la  liestauration  he 
wrote:  "The  Duchess  of  AngoulSme  alone  might 
have  drawn  upon  herself  the  rage  of  the  royalist 
party  and  let  tears  weigh  in  the  balance  against  the 
hero's  blood.  .  .  .  Fatal  inspirations  of  severity 
prevailed  with  her  over  the  natural  part  that  Provi- 
dence had  assigned  to  her.  .  .  .  And  therefore  she 
carried  out  in  her  family,  her  cause,  and  herself  the 
most  irresistible  of  policies,  — the  policy  of  feeling. 
This  was  more  than  obduracy ;  it  was  a  mistake  that 
condemned  her  dynasty  to  a  brief  existence."  And 
Lamartine  ends  with  these  words:  "The  court  was 
cruel,  the  King  weak,  the  ministers  complaisant, 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies  implacable,  Europe  urgent, 
and  the  Chamber  of  Peers  as  cowardly  as  a  senate 
in  the  evil  days  of  Rome.  Let  each  take  its  share 
in  the  blood  of  a  hero;  France  wants  none." 

Meantime  the  government,  blinded  as  it  was, 
rejoiced  in  this  execution  as  if  it  had  been  a  tri- 
umph. On  the  7th  of  December  the  Moniteur  repro- 
duced from  the  DShats  an  article  which  gave  the 


THE  DEATH  OF  MARSHAL  NET  335 

most  exciting  details  of  the  victim's  last  moments, 
and  without  even  suspecting  that  the  tears  which 
so  imprudent  an  account  would  cause  to  flow 
would  be  tears  of  vengeance.  At  the  close  of  this 
article  the  reader,  already  softened,  saw  in  a  sort 
of  stupor,  the  proceedings  characterized  as  "noble, 
generous,  indidgent.'"  The  journalist  ended  the 
lucubration,  which  was  reproduced  in  the  official 
sheet,  as  follows :  "  Posterity  to  which  the  accused 
made  his  appeal  will  ratify  this  verdict  which  is 
alread}^  confirmed  by  impartial  contemporaries  and 
by  all  who  do  not  sacrifice  evidence  to  impassioned 
pretensions,  and  history  will  apply  to  the  memory 
of  Marshal  Ney  a  justice  which  it  is  easy  to  foresee 
and  which  only  his  still-smoking  blood  prevents  us 
from  forecasting." 

Ah !  surely  the  editor  of  the  Journal  des  DShats  is 
not  a  good  prohpet.  Could  he  peer  into  the  future, 
what  would  he  see?  He  Avould  see  the  memory 
of  Marshal  Ney  avenged  successively  by  the  Re- 
public and  the  Empire,  the  provisional  govern- 
ment decreeing  on  the  18th  of  March,  1848,  that  a 
monument  should  be  raised  to  the  hero  on  the  very 
spot  where  he  fell !  He  would  see  Rude,  who  made 
the  bas-relief  of  the  Marseillaise  for  the  Arc-de- 
Triomphe  of  the  Champs-Elysdes,  sculpturing  the 
statue  of  the  marshal,  sword  in  hand  as  when  he 
cried  "Forward!"  And  on  the  7th  of  December, 
1853,  thirty  years  to  a  day  after  the  execution,  and 
on  the  same  spot  where  the  illustrious  victim  was 


336  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

shot,  what  will  be  taking  place  ?  The  great  bodies 
of  State,  the  marshals  of  France,  the  authorities,  and 
detachments  of  troops  of  all  arms,  will  be  assem- 
bled. The  Archbishop  of  Paris  will  give  "the  abso- 
lution. The  Minister  of  War  will  recall  the  mar- 
tial deeds  of  the  gallant  warrior.  His  statue  will 
be  unveiled  with  pomp  and  ceremony.  M.  Dupin, 
his  lawyer  during  the  trial,  will  urge,  —  and  this 
time  victoriously  —  the  plea  of  1815.  "To-day,"  he 
will  exclaim,  "after  a  very  long  interval  furrowed 
with  sundry  revolutions,  I  come  with  the  marshal's 
sons  to  assist  at  the  great  deed  of  reparation  accorded 
to  the  memorj"^  of  their  father.  It  is  an  honor  with 
which  I  am  grateful  to  be  associated.  .  .  .  Mar- 
shal Ney,  Duke  of  Elchingen,  and  Prince  de  la  Mos- 
kowa,  victorious  on  so  many  battle-fields,  was  the 
holocaust  offered  in  expiation  of  the  military  glories 
of  the  Empire.  'Twas  the  tricolor  immolated  to 
the  white  flag !  .  .  .  It  was  reserved  for  the  nephew 
of  the  Emperor  to  make  reparation  for  that  outrage, 
to  raise  a  monument  of  honor  in  place  of  a  funeral 
monument,  and  to  erect  the  hero's  statue  on  the 
very  spot  that  saw  the  victim  fall  ! 

"Honor,  gentlemen;  honor  to  the  men  who  are 
thus  recalled  from  the  tomb,  and  who  rise  before 
posterity  amid  the  consoling  ceremonies  of  religion, 
and  the  acclaims  of  their  fellow-citizens,  and,  like 
Marshal  Ney,  in  the  attitude  of  command ! " 

Let  us,  for  the  rest,  do  the  Duchess  of  Angoul^me 
the  justice  to  say  that  it  was  not  long  before  she 


THE  DEATH  OF  MARSHAL   NET  337 


came  to  regret  the  death  of  Marshal  Ney.  She  had 
occasion  to  see  General  de  S^gur  shortly  after  the 
publication  of  his  dramatic  account  of  the  campaign 
of  1812,  in  which  he  spoke  admiringly  of  the  hero  of 
B^r^sina.  The  Princess  had  an  heroic  soul  like 
that  of  her  grandmother,  Maria  Theresa,  and  her 
mother  Marie  Antoinette.  "Ah!  general,"  said 
she,  "  if  we  had  known  all  this,  Marshal  Ney  would 
never  have  been  shot." 


VII 


COUNT  DE  LAV  ALETTE 


ON  the  7th  of  December,  1815,  a  man  who  had 
been  captured  and  consigned  to  the  Concier- 
gerie  at  the  same  time  with  Marshal  Ney,  and  who 
was  still  in  that  prison,  wondered  what  had  become 
of  the  marshal,  and  anxiously  interrogated  one  of 
the  jailors  as  to  his  fate.  The  jailor  hesitated,  but 
finally  said  that  the  bravest  of  the  brave  had  been 
executed.  "At  La  GrSve,  on  the  scaffold ?"  cried 
the  captive.     "No;  shot."     "  He  was  very  lucky  I  " 

The  jailor  did  not  understand  what  this  meant. 
He  thought  his  charge  was  going  mad. 

The  prisoner  dreaded  a  harder  fate  than  that  of 
Marshal  Ney.  A  few  days  previously  he  had 
written  as  follows  to  his  former  general.  Marshal 
Marmont:  "My  head  is  doomed.  I  was  able  to 
hear  without  disquietude  the  fatal  decree  that  pro- 
scribed me;  but  I  confess  that  it  is  not  without 
horror  that  I  see  myself  surrounded  by  executioners, 
and  going  to  the  scaffold.  For  us  old  soldiers  it  is 
a  trifle  to  die;  we  have  braved  death  on  splendid 
battle-fields;  —  but  La  Gr^ve!  ...  Oh!  it  is  hor- 
rible! .  .  .  One  must,  alas!  leave  this  life  so 
338 


COUNT  T>E  LAV  ALETTE  339 

crossed  with  misfortunes;  so  brief;  but,  in  the 
name  of  our  old  friendship,  in  the  name  of  the 
dangers  we  have  shared,  do  not  suffer  one  of  your 
old  fellow-soldiers  to  mount  the  scaffold.  Let  a 
company  of  brave  grenadiers  shoot  me.  In  dying  I 
would  have  this  last  illusion :  I  died  on  the  field  of 
lionor." 

The  man  who  wrote  these  lines  was  forty-six 
years  old.  He  was  born  in  1769,  the  year  in  which 
Napoleon  and  Marshal  Ney  first  saw  the  light.  He 
was  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  brilliant  officers  in 
the  French  army,  and  distinguished  himself  as  aide- 
de-camp  to  General  Bonaparte  during  the  first  Ital- 
ian campaign  and  the  expedition  to  Egypt.  He  was 
named  Antoine-Marie  Chamans,  Count  de  Lavalette. 

Some  days  before  his  departure  for  Egypt,  in 
1798,  he  married  Emilie  de  Beauharnais,  niece  of 
the  first  husband  of  the  woman  who  became  the 
Empress  Josephine. 

Viscount  and  General  Alexandre  de  Beauharnais, 
Josephine's  first  husband,  was  as  marked  a  liberal 
as  his  brother.  Marquis  Fran9ois  de  Beauharnais, 
was  a  reactionary.  In  the  Constituent  Assembly  the 
latter  was  known  as  "faithful  Beauharnais,"  because 
of  his  fidelity  to  the  monarchy,  or  "  Beauharnais  sans 
amendement,"  because  of  his  persistent  opposition 
to  all  amendments  the  purpose  of  which  was  to 
restrict  the  royal  prerogatives.  The  marquis  mar- 
ried his  cousin-german,  the  daughter  of  Count 
Claude   de  Beauharnais   and   the   authoress   Fanny 


840  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULtME 

Mouchard.  Of  this  union  a  daughter  was  born, 
who  became  Madame  de  Lavalette. 

Marquis  Fran9ois  de  Beauharnais  was  much 
devoted  to  the  royal  cause,  and  emigrated  in  order 
to  rejoin  the  brother  of  Louis  XVI.  at  Coblentz, 
leaving  his  daughter  at  Paris  in  the  care  of  domes- 
tics. The  young  woman  was  still  there  when  Gen- 
eral Bonaparte,  whose  niece  she  was  by  marriage, 
said  to  his  aide-de-camp,  some  days  before  they  set 
out  for  Egypt:  "Lavalette,  I  can't  make  you  chief 
of  squadron,  but  I  am  going  to  marry  you  off.  I 
want  you  to  marry  Emilie  de  Beauharnais;  she  is 
very  handsome  and  well-bred.     Do  you  know  her  ?  " 

"  I  have  seen  her  twice.  But,  general,  I  have  no 
fortune;  we  are  going  to  Africa,  and  I  may  easily 
be  killed  there.  What  would  become  of  my  poor 
widow?     Besides,  I  have  no  taste  for  marriage." 

"  One  has  to  marry  to  have  children ;  that  is  the 
object  of  life,"  said  Bonaparte.  "You  may  possibly 
be  killed,  but  in  that  case  she  will  be  the  widow  of 
one  of  m}'^  aides-de-camp,  of  a  defender  of  his  coun- 
try; she  will  have  a  pension  and  be  able  to  place 
herself  advantageously.  Now,  nobody  wants  an 
imigrS''s  daughter;  my  wife  cannot  bring  her  out. 
The  poor  child  is  worthy  of  a  better  fate.  The 
business  must  be  attended  to  promptly.  Talk  with 
Madame  Bonaparte  this  evening.  The  mother  has 
given  her  consent.  Within  a  week  the  wedding, 
and  1  will  give  you  fifteen  days  for  the  honeymoon. 
Then  you  will  join  me  at  Toulon." 


COUNT  BE  LAV  ALETTE  341 

"I  will  do  anything  you  wish,  general,"  was  the 
reply.  "  But  would  the  young  woman  accept  me  ?  I 
don't  want  to  have  any  compulsion  used." 

"  She  is  a  child  who  is  tired  of  the  boarding-school. 
While  you  are  away  she  will  live  with  her  grand- 
father at  Fontainebleau.  You  will  not  be  killed, 
and  in  two  years  you  will  be  with  her  again.  So ! 
the  affair  is  settled." 

In  the  evening  Madame  Bonaparte  said  to  her 
husband's  aide-de-camp :  "  To-morrow  we  will  go  to 
Saint-Germain,  and  I  will  introduce  you  to  my 
niece,  who  is  a  charming  girl." 

On  the  next  day.  General  and  Madame  Bona- 
parte, Eugene  de  Beauharnais,  and  Lavalette,  entered 
a  carriage  and  drove  to  Madame  Campan's  school  at 
Saint-Germain.  It  was  a  great  event  for  the  school. 
Presently  four  young  people  went  down  into  the 
garden.  Lavalette  looked  around  anxiously  for  her 
who  was  to  be  his  destiny.  She  was  the  prettiest. 
Her  figure  was  erect,  slender,  and  graceful ;  her  face 
charming,  her  color  fine,  and  there  was  about  her 
a  bashful  embarrassment  that  made  the  captain 
smile. 

It  was  decided  to  have  breakfast  on  the  lawn  in 
the  garden.  Lavalette  said  to  himself:  "Will  she 
accept  me  without  repugnance?"  The  abruptness 
of  the  marriage  and  the  suddenness  of  the  departure 
disquieted  him.  After  breakfast,  he  requested 
Eugene  de  Beauharnais,  the  girl's  cousin-german, 
to  take  her  to  a  lonely  garden  path,  where  he  would 


342  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUlAmE 

join  her.  "I  have,"  said  he  to  her,  "only  ray  sword 
and  the  good  will  of  the  general,  and  I  must  leave 
you  in  fifteen  days.  Open  your  heart  to  me.  I  know 
I  am  disposed  to  love  you  with  my  whole  soul ;  but 
this  is  not  enough.  If  this  marriage  is  not  to  your 
taste,  let  me  know  it ;  it  will  not  be  hard  for  me  to 
find  some  pretext  for  breaking  it  off.  My  with- 
drawal will  be  accepted;  you  will  not  be  worried. 
I  shall  keep  your  secret. " 

Emilie  de  Beauharnais  lowered  her  eyes.  Her 
only  answer  was  a  smile,  and  then  she  gave  her 
bouquet  to  the  aide-de-camp.  They  embraced.  In  a 
week  they  were  married. 

Lavalette  had  not  the  courage  to  bid  his  wife 
farewell.  It  would  have  been  too  painful  to  do  so. 
Without  speaking  he  set  out  for  Egypt,  whence 
he  did  not  return  for  eighteen  montlis.  During 
the  expedition  Bonaparte  had  eight  aides-de-camp. 
Four  perished,  —  Julien  and  Sulkowski  assassinated 
by  Arabs,  Croisier  killed  at  the  siege  of  Saint-Jean- 
d'Acre,  and  Guibert  at  the  battle  of  Aboukir.  Two 
others,  Duroc  and  Eugene  de  Beauharnais,  were  seri- 
ously wounded.  Merlin  and  Lavalette  escaped. 
" Glory  and  fortune, "  said  the  latter,  "cost  a  good 
deal  with  General  Bonaparte." 

Under  the  Empire,  Lavalette,  who  had  left  mili- 
tary life,  did  great  service  as  postmaster-general. 
Napoleon  made  him  a  count.  As  the  cousin- 
german  of  Prince  Eugene,  of  Queen  Hortense,  and 
the  Grand  Duchess  Stephanie  of  Baden,  who  was  the 


COUNT  DE  LAV  ALETTE  343 

daughter  of  Count  Claude  de  Beauharnais  and  a 
Mile,  de  L<^zay-Marne8in,  the  Countess  of  Lavalette 
had  a  splendid  position  at  court,  where  she  exer- 
cised the  duties  of  lady  of  honor  to  her  aunt,  the 
Empress  Josephine. 

Lavalette  remained  faithful  to  the  Emperor  dur- 
ing the  Restoration.  He  did  not  take  the  oath  to 
Louis  XVIII. ,  and  was  not  asked  to  do  so.  His 
conscience  did  not  reproach  him  when,  faithful  to 
his  old  master,  and  after  the  flight  of  the  King,  he 
took  possession,  in  the  Emperor's  name,  of  the 
post-office  department  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  of 
March,  1815.  He  retained  all  the  employees,  with- 
out caring  to  inquire  whether  they  were  Bona- 
partists  or  royalists.  One  of  his  higher-grade 
employees  officiously  went  to  him  with  a  list  of 
suspects.  Lavalette  let  him  talk.  When  the  man 
had  finished  his  denunciations,  Lavalette  said:  "Sir, 
have  you  ever  looked  an  honest  man  in  the  face  ? " 
In  his  embarrassment  the  official  managed  to  stam- 
mer out  something.  "Ah!  well,"  said  Lavalette, 
"learn  to  know  me,"  and,  taking  the  list,  he  threw 
it  into  the  fire  without  reading  it. 

Lavalette  was  an  amiable  and  intelligent  man, 
kindly  and  modest,  benevolent  and  ready  to  do  a 
service,  and  he  always  had  warm  friends.  Never- 
theless, the  reactionaries  clamored  loudly  for  his 
death  at  the  outset  of  the  Restoration.  It  was  in 
vain  that  M.  de  Vitrolles  told  him  that  he  would  do 
well  to  look  to  his  safety,  and  that  Fouchd  himself, 


344  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

who  was  then  making  up  the  list  of  proscribed  per- 
sons, gave  him  the  same  advice.  He  had  the 
imprudence  to  stay  at  Paris,  detained  there  by  his 
wife's  approaching  confinement.  He  was  arrested 
on  the  18th  of  July,  1815,  and  incarcerated  in  the 
Conciergerie,  where  Marshal  Ney  already  was.  His 
cell  was  separated  from  the  women's  court  only  by 
a  wall.  "  From  eight  in  the  morning  till  seven  at 
night,"  said  he,  "there  was  a  continual  and  deafen- 
ing riot  of  the  grossest,  basest,  and  most  depraved 
language  that  it  is  possible  for  tongue  to  utter. 
The  jailors  often  had  to  run  to  re-establish  order 
among  these  harpies.  On  this  court  the  two  win- 
dows of  the  Queen's  prison  opened,  and  while  I 
was  there  the  room,  which  I  had  to  pass  when  I  went 
into  the  yard,  served  as  a  parlor  for  such  privileged 
prisoners  as  received  visitors  from  outside.  .  .  . 
The  entrance  was  at  the  end  of  a  dark  corridor. 
The  Queen  had  had  only  a  bed,  a  table,  and  two 
chairs.  A  large  curtain  suspended  in  the  middle 
of  the  room  separated  her  from  the  gendarme  and 
the  jailor.  .  .  .  How  many  times  have  I  walked 
in  that  prison  when  sadness  and  dejection  came  over 
me !  There  I  found  strength  and  courage  again.  I 
blushed  at  myself  for  complaining  of  the  fate  that 
might  be  in  store  for  me,  when  I  conjured  up  the 
dreadful  destiny  of  the  Queen  of  France.  I  am 
certainly  the  first  who  set  on  foot  the  movement  to 
make  a  chapel  of  that  cell.  Shortly  after  my  escape 
the  order  that  this  should  be  done  was  given  and 
carried  into  effect." 


COUNT  DE  LAV  ALETTE  345 

In  his  solitude  the  prisoner  heard  music  which 
came  from  an  adjoining  room.  The  musician  was 
Marshal  Ney.  "He  played  the  flute  pretty  well," 
says  Lavalette  in  his  touching  Memoirs,  "and  in 
this  way  he  was  able  to  charm  away  his  weariness 
for  some  days.  But  this  resource  was  taken  from 
him  under  the  pretext  that  it  was  against  the  rules 
of  the  house.  He  liked  to  repeat  a  waltz  which  ran 
in  my  head  a  long  time  and  which  I  used  to  hum. 
I  never  heard  it  anywhere  else  except  once  in 
Bavaria,  at  a  rustic  ball  on  the  banks  of  Lake 
Starnberg.  I  was  looking  at  young  peasant  girls 
thronging  the  fresh  green  turf.  The  melody  was 
sweet  and  melancholy.  The  sound  of  the  flute  at 
once  transported  me  back  to  the  Conciergerie,  and 
I  went  away  in  tears  and  pronouncing  the  marshal's 
name  with  bitterness.  ...  In  the  daytime  we  used 
to  walk  in  the  little  court  without  being  permitted  to 
be  together,  although  the  marshal  was  accompanied 
by  a  gendarme." 

Lavalette  gave  orders  that  his  wife,  who  was  with 
child,  was  not  to  come  to  the  prison,  since  so 
lamentable  a  sight  might  be  disastrous  to  so  sensi- 
tive and  affectionate  a  woman.  He  wished  to  keep 
that  frightful  dungeon  from  the  eyes  of  his  daughter 
also.  "Nevertheless,"  he  says,  "her  mother  sent 
her  to  me  for  my  blessing  on  the  eve  of  her  first 
communion.  Upon  seeing  my  only  child,  apparelled 
in  all  the  grace  and  freshness  of  youth,  throw  herself 
into  my  arms,  bathed  in  tears,  and  presently  falling 


346  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

at  my  feet  in  a  deep  swoon,  my  heart  was  torn  with 
all  the  tenderness  of  paternal  love.  Then,  for  the 
first  time,  I  felt  all  the  depth  of  my  misfortune.  I 
could  not  control  my  sorrow;  silent  tear^  mingled 
with  my  groans,  and  I  laid  my  hands  on  her  head, 
unable  to  say  a  word." 

Lavalette  suffered  cruelly.  The  well-known  line : 
"  'Tis  crime  that  brings  us  shame,  and  not  the 
scaffold,"  brought  him  no  consolation.  The  thought 
of  being  guillotined,  like  a  common  criminal,  in 
the  Place  de  Greve,  and  of  the  anguish  into  which 
his  wife  and  daughter  would  be  plunged,  haunted 
him  like  a  nightmare.  And  yet  he  preserved  his 
firmness  except  only  when  he  gave  his  child  his 
fatherly  blessing. 

What  was  it  that  consoled  him?  He  himself 
shall  tell  us.  "I  did  not  seek  moral  strength  in 
meditation  or  illusions  that  reality  dispelled  day 
by  day.  I  found  it  in  thinking  of  the  Emperor.  I 
suffered,  but  it  was  for  him.  My  evil  fate  gathered 
lustre  from  the  cause  in  which  it  had  its  birth.  My 
name  and  destiny  were  allied  with  his  imperishable 
fame ;  and  then,  were  his  sufferings  not  greater  than 
my  own?  The  perfidy  of  the  English  government 
had  placed  him  on  Saint  Helena.  What  torments 
did  not  his  exile  at  the  world's  end  hold  in  store  for 
him!  I  was  ashamed  to  complain  in  view  of  such 
misfortunes.  The  revenge  of  the  kings  was  heaped 
on  us  both,  and  I  found  consolation  and  glory  in 
sharing    it.       The    thought   of   this   sustained    me 


COUNT  BE  LAV  ALETTE  347 

always  and  preserved  me  from  every  show  of  weak- 
ness." 

Lavalette  was  produced  at  the  assize  court  on  the 
16th  of  November,  1815.  He  heard  his  sentence 
calmly,  and  turning  to  his  former  subordinates  in 
the  post-office  who  had  testified  against  him,  he 
said:  "Gentlemen  of  the  postal  service,  I  bid  you 
farewell."  On  the  night  after  he  was  sentenced  he 
wrote  to  his  old  companion  in  arms,  Marshal  Clarke, 
Duke  of  Feltre :  "  See  what  you  can  do  for  me,  and 
try  at  least  to  spare  me  the  horrible  agony  of  the 
scaffold.  Have  me  shot  by  soldiers  of  the  army,  and 
death  will  seem  almost  a  boon  to  me."  The  mar- 
shal replied  in  a  letter  containing  these  words :  "  All 
that  is  left  for  you  is  to  commend  your  wife  and 
child  to  the  inexhaustible  goodness  of  the  King." 
When  Louis  XVIII.  heard  that  the  condemned  man 
asked  the  favor  of  being  shot,  he  answered  drily: 
"No,  he  must  be  guillotined." 

Marshal  Marmont,  Duke  of  Ragusa,  who  had  been 
the  friend  of  Lavalette 's  youthful  days  and  his  com- 
rade in  arms,  then  intervened  in  a  way  that  does 
the  greatest  honor  to  his  memory.  Although  the 
body-guard  had  received  orders  to  prevent  Madame 
de  Lavalette  from  entering  the  Tuileries,  he  allowed 
her  to  go  there  on  the  18th  of  December.  The  poor 
woman,  weak  and  suffering,  could  not  walk  without 
pain,  and  had  to  be  carried  part  of  the  way  in  a 
sedan  chair,  and  this  attracted  considerable  atten- 
tion.    Nevertheless,  the    marshal    did  not  despair. 


348  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

He  decided  that  Madame  de  Lavalette  and  he  should 
go  to  the  guardroom  together  when  the  King  should 
be  at  Mass.  Should  they  arrive  before  that  hour, 
Louis  XVIII.  would  hear  of  their  presence  and  not 
be  present  at  Mass  on  that  day  rather  than  meet  the 
suppliant.  When  the  King  had  passed  and  was  in 
the  chapel,  the  marshal  and  Madame  de  Lavalette 
presented  themselves  at  the  foot  of  the  grand  stair- 
way. The  porter  had  received  no  instructions,  and 
they  went  up  without  interference.  But  when  they 
were  on  the  threshold  of  the  guardroom  an  officer 
cried  out:  "Marshal,  you  cannot  enter  with  that 
lady  on  your  arm."  Marmont  then  appealed  to  the 
officer  in  charge. 

He  was  a  sub-lieutenant  of  the  body-guard,  Mar- 
quis of  Bartillac,  who  married  a  Mademoiselle  de 
B^thune,  and  a  nephew  of  the  Duke  of  Havr^.  The 
officer  stepped  forward,  and  the  following  dialogue 
ensued  between  him  and  Marmont :  — 

"It  is  Madame  de  Lavalette  who  accompanies 
you,  marshal ;  she  is  forbidden  here. " 

"I  have  just  been  told  so;  nevertheless,  answer 
me  frankly;  you  have  orders  to  prevent  her  from 
entering,  but  have  you  orders  to  put  her  out  ?  " 

"No." 

"Well,  then;  leave  her  alone.  She  is  going  to 
ask  a  pardon  for  her  husband,  and  I  hope  she  will 
secure  it.  What  risk  do  you  run  ?  Has  the  nephew 
of  the  Duke  of  Havrd  anything  to  fear  ?  The  worst 
that  can  happen  to  you  is  a  few  days  under  arrest : 


COUNT  DE  LAV  ALETTE  349 

and,  by  submitting  to  this  risk  you  run  the  chance 
of  saving  a  man's  life.  It  is  a  piece  of  good  for- 
tune; do  not  let  it  slip." 

"  Marshal,  I  will  leave  the  responsibility  with  you. 
Madame  de  Lavalette  may  remain." 

And  then  the  marshal  placed  the  petitioner  near 
the  door  of  the  King's  apartments  and  remained  at 
her  side  till  Mass  was  ended. 

When  the  chapel-door  opened.  Baron  de  Glan- 
d^ve,  major  of  the  body-guard,  went  to  the  Duke 
of  Ragusa  and  told  him  that  the  presence  of  Madame 
de  Lavalette  was  contrary  to  orders. 

"Yes,"  said  the  marshal;  "but  have  you  the 
King's  orders  to  expel  her?" 

"No." 

"Well,  then,  she  shall  stay." 

Louis  XVIII.  appeared  at  the  entrance.  Madame 
de  Lavalette  cast  herself  at  his  feet  and  cried: 
"Pardon,  Sire,  pardon!" 

The  King  replied:  "Madame,  I  share  in  your 
justifiable  grief,  but  I  have  duties  laid  on  me,  and 
I  must  do  them."     And  he  passed  on. 

"A  symptom  of  the  bitter  spirit  of  the  time,"  says 
Marshal  Marmont  in  his  Memoirs,  "  is  that  when 
the  King  had  said  these  words  the  body-guards  were 
fain  to  shout  '  Long  live  the  King ! '  which,  in  the 
circumstances,  was  a  somewhat  brutal  and  savage 
thing  to  do.  Madame  de  Lavalette  had  another 
petition  for  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme,  and  wished 
to  present  it.     But  the  latter  avoided  it  by  a  violent 


850  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

movement  and  a  repulse,  casting  at  her  at  the  same 
time  a  furious  look  impossible  to  describe." 

Louis  XVIII.  having  re-entered  his  apartments, 
the  marshal  led  the  suppliant  to  her  sedan  chair  and 
thence  home.  The  poor  woman  was  still  deceived 
as  to  the  King's  intentions.  But  the  marshal  looked 
on  the  King's  action  in  a  clearer  light;  for,  as  he 
himself  has  said,  the  opportunity  was  too  good  and 
the  surroundings  too  dramatic  not  to  be  used  if  the 
King  wished  to  show  mercy.  However,  the  marshal 
determined  to  make  another  endeavor  on  the  next 
day,  the  19th  of  December,  which  was  the  Duchess 
of  Angouleme's  birthday,  and  the  anniversary  of  her 
escape  from  the  Temple  twenty  years  previously; 
namely,  on  the  19th  of  December,  1795. 

There  was  a  community  in  misfortune  between 
the  two  women  which  ought  to  have  touched  the 
daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  Madame  de  Lavalette's 
father  was  an  SmigrS  who  had  sacrificed  himself  for 
the  royal  cause.  She  might  say  to  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme:  Madame,  I  kneel  before  you  in  the 
selfsame  room  at  the  Tuileries  to  which,  on  the  12th 
of  August,  1792,  my  husband,  mingling  with  the 
Swiss  guards,  came  at  the  peril  of  his  life  to  serve 
your  family.  .  .  .  Madame,  at  this  very  moment 
my  husband  is  in  that  frightful  prison  of  the  Con- 
ciergerie,  in  a  dungeon  next  to  that  in  which  your 
mother  was  confined  twenty  years  ago.  .  .  .  Ma- 
dame, you  know  what  the  scaffold  is,  and  surely  you 
will   never   let  my  husband   ascend  it.  .  .  .     Ma- 


COUNT  DE  LAV  ALETTE  351 

dame,  you  who  have  suffered  so  much  will  take  pity 
on  my  sufferings. 

And  the  unhappy  woman  said  to  herself:  "If  I 
can  speak  with  the  Princess,  if  onlj'-  for  a  minute, 
my  husband  is  saved." 

On  the  19th  of  December  Marshal  Marmont  found 
means  to  have  her  brought  to  the  anteroom  of  the 
captain  of  the  guards  on  duty.  There  she  was  to 
fall  at  the  feet  of  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  when 
the  Princess  mounted  the  stairs  which  were  known 
as  the  King's  stairs.  But  body-guards  had  been 
stationed  everywhere,  even  on  the  upper  floors, 
officials  redoubled,  and  the  doors  watched  to  prevent 
surprises,  and  so  the  Duchess  was  enabled  to  go 
about  in  tho  interior  of  the  Tuileries  without  danger 
of  meeting  the  petitioner. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  poor  wife  was  still 
the  victim  of  illusions.  "  Marshal, "  she  kept  say- 
ing to  the  Duke  of  Ragusa,  "they  wish  to  delay  the 
pardon  of  my  husband  till  he  is  on  the  scaffold." 
Marmont  replied:  "Do  not  believe  it.  If  he  mounts 
it,  he  is  a  dead  man.  You  say  you  want  to  find  a 
way  of  escape  for  him.  Now  is  the  moment  to  find 
it,  and  I  beg  you  not  to  defer  it.  Time  passes." 
Madame  de  Lavalette  acquiesced  in  the  situation. 


VIII 

MADAME  DE  LAVALETTE 

MADAME  DE  LAVALETTE  had  nothing 
now  to  expect  from  the  mercy  of  the  King. 
The  anger  of  the  salons  was  roused  to  the  highest 
pitch.  "Society  rang  with  complaints,"  says  Mar- 
shal Marmont  in  his  Memoirs.  "  The  little  court 
ladies  appeared  to  have  lost  their  heads  completely, 
and  were  inexorable.  It  was  the  fashion  to  be 
pitiless.  The  most  atrocious  language  was  used. 
They  talked  of  nothing  less  than  shooting  me. 
'How,'  they  said,  'are  we  to  have  an  army,  if  a 
marshal  of  France  is  the  first  to  forget  the  laws  of 
discipline  and  to  disobey  orders?  .  .  .  Never,  at 
any  time,  has  Parisian  society  displayed  passions 
more  violent  than  then."  More  than  one  woman  of 
the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  was  furious  against  the 
condemned  man,  because,  in  his  capacity  as  post- 
master-general he  had  possibly  come  to  know  their 
secrets.  They  wished  to  have  those  secrets  locked 
in  his  grave. 

In  the   meantime   Madame  de   Lavalette  remem- 
bered what  the  marshal  had  told  her.     She  was  sick 
and    overwhelmed    with    grief.       During   her   hus- 
362 


MADAJHi:   DE  LAV  ALETTE  353 

band's  imprisonment  she  had  given  birth  to  a  son 
whom  she  had  just  lost.  The  effects  of  confine- 
ment, the  death  of  her  child,  and  the  sentence  of 
her  husband  to  capital  punishment  had  so  preyed 
on  her  health  that  she  could  no  longer  bear  the 
jolting  of  a  carriage,  and  was  obliged  to  use  a  sedan 
chair  when  she  made  the  slightest  journey.  But 
though  her  body  was  bowed  down,  nothing  could 
touch  her  heroic  soul.  She  secured  permission  to 
dine  with  her  husband,  and  every  evening  she  was 
carried  to  his  prison.  On  the  19th  of  December, 
the  day  on  which  she  had  vainly  tried  to  reach  the 
Duchess  of  Angouleme,  she  went  as  usual  to  the 
Conciergerie,  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

When  she  was  alone  with  the  condemned  man,  she 
said :  "  It  is  only  too  certain  that  we  have  nothing 
to  hope  for.  We  must  do  something,  therefore,  my 
dear,  and  this  is  what  I  propose.  At  eight  o'clock 
to-morrow  evening-  you  will  leave  this  place  dressed 
in  my  clothes.  You  will  go  into  my  sedan  chair, 
which  will  take  you  to  the  rue  des  Saints-Peres, 
where  M.  Baudus  will  be  waiting  with  a. cabriolet 
to  take  you  to  a  hiding-place  that  he  has  found 
for  you.  There  you  will  stay  without  danger  till 
means  are  found  to  get  you  away  from  France." 

Lavalette  listened  to  his  wife  and  looked  at  her 
in  silence.  She  was  perfectly  calm  and  her  voice 
was  steady.  He  tried  to  say  how  mad  this  project 
seemed  to  him,  but  she  exclaimed :  "  No  objections  I 
If  you  die,  I  shall  die.     Therefore  do  not  reject  my 


864  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

plan.  I  am  profoundly  determined.  I  feel  that  God 
sustains  me." 

In  vain  did  he  try  to  discourage  her  by  speaking 
of  the  many  jailors  who  surrounded  him  every  night 
after  she  had  left  him;  of  the  keeper  who  assisted 
her  into  the  sedan  chair;  of  the  impossibility  of 
being  so  well  disguised  as  not  to  be  detected,  and, 
finally,  of  his  invincible  repugnance  to  leaving  her 
in  the  hands  of  the  jailors. 

"What  may  not  happen,"  cried  the  unhappy  hus- 
band, "when  my  escape  is  discovered?  Will  not 
these  brutes  so  far  forget  themselves  as  to  maltreat 
you?" 

He  wished  to  speak  further,  but  he  saw  by  the 
pallor  of  her  countenance  and  her  impatient  ges- 
tures, that  he  must  relinquish  all  objections. 
"  Give  me  your  word  to  obey  me,  for  it  is  our  last 
resource."  He  took  her  hand.  "I  will  do  what- 
ever you  wish  and  in  the  way  you  wish  it."  This 
promise  calmed  her,  and  they  separated. 

Upon  the  departure  of  his  wife,  the  prisoner  said 
to  himself:  "The  plan  is  impracticable.  She  is 
nearly  half  an  inch  taller  than  I.  All  the  jailors 
are  used  to  seeing  me.  Her  figure  is  lithe  and 
slender.  It  is  true  that  suffering  has  made  me 
remarkably  thin,  but  the  difference  between  us 
would  be  apparent  to  everybody.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  am  well  prepared  to  die !  Indeed,  for  two 
days  I  have  been  thinking  of  committing  suicide 
with  the  weapon  I  have  concealed.     All  this  hang- 


MADAME  DE  LAV  ALETTE  355 

man's  toilet  and  the  slow  procession  on  a  cart 
from  the  Conciergerie  to  La  Greve  has  disturbed 
me,  but  my  heart  has  remained  firm.  And  now  I 
must  turn  my  eyes  from  death  to  enter  on  a  fool- 
hardy plan  of  flight!  Burlesque  is  going  to  be 
mixed  up  with  tragedy,  for  I  shall  be  captured  in 
woman's  clothes,  and  perhaps  they  will  have  the 
barbarity  to  produce  me  in  public  in  that  ridiculous 
masquerade.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  how  can  I 
refuse  what  she  asks  ?  She  seemed  so  happy  in  her 
project ;  so  certain  of  its  success !  It  would  kill  her 
if  I  did  not  keep  my  word." 

It  was  the  20th  of  December,  1815.  The  petition 
for  pardon  had  been  definitely  rejected  in  the  coun- 
cil of  ministers.  The  scaffold  on  which  the  con- 
demned man  was  to  be  executed  on  the  following 
day  was  in  process  of  erection.  At  five  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  Madame  de  Lavalette  arrived  at  the 
Conciergerie,  accompanied  by  her  daughter,  who 
was  twelve  years  old.  She  wore  a  merino  dress 
lined  with  fur,  which  she  had  been  accustomed  to 
use  when  returning  from  a  ball,  and  in  her  bag  was 
a  black  taffeta  petticoat.  "This  is  enough  to  dis- 
guise you  perfectly,"  she  said  to  her  husband. 
Then  she  sent  her  daughter  to  the  window  and 
added  in  a  low  voice:  "When  the  clock  strikes 
seven,  you  must  be  dressed;  everything  is  ready. 
As  you  go  out,  you  must  give  your  arm  to  Jose- 
l^hine  and  take  care  to  Avalk  very  slowly,  and  when 
you  pass  the  registrar's  office  you  must  cover  your 


356  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

face  with  my  handkerchief.  I  thought  of  bringing 
a  veil,  but  unfortunately  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of 
wearing  one  when  I  came  here,  and  so  it  is  not  to 
be  thought  of.  When  going  through  the  doors, 
which  are  very  low,  be  careful  not  to  get  the  bonnet 
feathers  caught,  for  then  all  would  be  lost.  I 
always  find  jailors  in  the  office,  and  the  warden  is 
accustomed  to  give  me  his  hand  to  assist  me  into 
the  sedan  chair  which  always  stands  near  the  exit- 
gate,  though  to-day  it  will  be  at  the  head  of  the 
great  stairway.  There  you  will  meet  M.  Baudus, 
who  will  conduct  you  as  far  as  the  cabriolet  and  tell 
you  where  you  are  to  be  in  hiding.  And  then  — 
trust  in  God,  my  friend!  .  .  .  Do  exactly  as  I  say. 
Don't  worry.  Give  me  your  hand;  I  want  to  feel 
your  pulse.  Good!  .  .  .  Now  take  mine;  do  you 
detect  the  least  disturbance?"  The  poor  woman 
did  not  see  that  she  was  in  a  high  fever.  "  Above 
all,"  she  added,  "no  displays  of  affection,  or  Ave  are 
lost!" 

Dinner  is  served.  At  this  moment  Madame  Dutoit, 
little  Josephine's  aged  nurse,  enters  the  cell.  Far 
from  being  useful,  she  will  only  be  in  the  way,  for 
she  may  lose  her  head  when  she  sees  the  disguise. 
She  begins  to  groan.  Then  Madame  de  Lavalette, 
in  a  subdued  but  steady  voice,  says  to  her:  "No 
childishness !  Remain  at  the  table ;  do  not  eat  or 
say  a  word,  and  smell  at  this  perfume-bottle.  Within 
less  than  fifteen  minutes  you  will  be  in  the  open  air." 

It  is  a  grim  dinner.    The  condemned  man  thinks  it 


MADAME  BE  LAV  ALETTE  357 

his  last,  and  the  food  almost  chokes  him.  None  of  the 
three  speaks  a  word.  At  a  quarter  to  seven  Madame 
de  Lavalette  saj^s  to  her  husband:  "Come ;  it  is  time 
to  dress."  Then  she  goes  behind  a  screen  with  him, 
and  arranges  the  woman's  clothes  he  is  to  wear.  The 
toilet  is  completed  in  three  minutes.  Young  Jose- 
phine remains  on  the  other  side  of  the  screen.  Pres- 
ently the  condemned  man  reappears  in  his  feminine 
costume.  "•  How  does  your  father  look  ?  "  Madame 
de  Lavalette  asks  her  daughter.  "  Not  badly,"  an- 
swers the  poor  child,  with  a  bitter  smile. 

The  decisive  moment  comes.  He  must  go.  M.  de 
Lavalette  says  to  his  wife,  who  will  take  his  place  in 
the  cell :  "  The  keeper  comes  every  night,  when  you 
have  gone.  Be  careful  to  remain  behind  the  screen, 
and  make  a  little  noise  by  moving  the  furniture.  He 
will  think  that  I  am  here,  and  then  go  away  for  a 
few  minutes,  which  I  must  use  in  making  my  escape." 
Then  husband  and  wife  exchange  a  last  look,  without 
daring  to  embrace.  The  door  opens.  Lavalette  goes 
fii-st,  his  daughter  following,  while  Madame  Dutoit 
comes  last.  The  wife  remains  alone  in  the  cell, 
behind  the  screen.  After  crossing  the  corridor,  the 
condemned  man  reaches  the  door  of  the  office.  He 
lowei's  his  head  so  that  the  feathers  in  his  hat  may 
escape  the  top  of  the  door-case.  On  raising  his  head, 
he  sees  five  turnkeys  lining  the  passage.  As  he  puts 
his  handkerchief  to  his  eyes,  they  take  him  for  his  wife, 
and  the  jailor  says,  "  You  are  going  early.  Countess." 
At  last  he  arrives  at  the  end  of  the  room.     But  the 


858  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

hardest  is  yet  to  come.  Will  the  turnkey  who  guards 
the  iron  gate  open  it?  A  new  anxiety  here.  Lavalette 
puts  his  hand  between  the  bars  to  attract  attention. 
The  turnkey  hesitates  for  an  instant,  but  turns  the 
key.  The  prisoner  walks  out  with  his  daughter  and 
the  servant.  He  is  outside,  to  be  sure,  but  that  is 
not  all.  There  is  a  flight  of  twelve  steps  to  mount  in 
order  to  reach  the  courtyard,  and  at  its  top  is  the 
police  body-guard.  The  condemned  man  goes  by  them, 
slowly  reaches  the  topmost  step,  and,  with  his  daugh- 
ter, gets  into  the  sedan  chair  in  the  great  court.  The 
chair  is  borne  on  the  road  to  the  quai  des  Orfevrei, 
and  stops  opposite  to  the  little  street  de  Harlay. 
M.  Baudus  is  there,  opens  the  door  of  the  chair,  and 
says  to  Lavalette,  "You  know,  Madame,  that  you 
have  to  visit  the  President."  He  leads  the  fugitive 
to  a  cabriolet,  where  a  friend  of  his,  M.  de  Chassenon, 
formerly  Auditor  to  the  Council  of  State,  who  is  on 
the  box  with  loaded  pistols,  is  waiting.  The  cabriolet 
carries  him  to  a  very  remote  quarter  on  the  Boulevard 
Neuf,  where  M.  Baudus  once  more  takes  the  lead. 
On  the  road,  Lavalette  has  removed  his  feminine 
apparel,  and  replaced  it  with  a  jockey-coat  and  a 
laced  hat.  M.  Baudus  takes  him  on  foot  to  the 
asylum  prepared  for  him. 

It  is  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  night  is 
dark,  and  rain  falls  in  torrents.  The  headlong  paces 
of  the  horses  of  gendarmes  who,  doubtless,  are  carry- 
ing despatches  relative  to  the  escape  of  the  prisoner, 
alone  break  the  silence  of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Ger- 


MADAME  BE   LAV  ALETTE  359 

main.  After  walking  for  nearly  an  hour,  the  rue 
de  Grenelle  is  reached  at  the  corner  of  the  rue  du 
Bac.  M.  Baudus  says  to  Lavalette :  "  I  am  going 
into  a  house.  While  I  am  talking  to  the  porter,  you 
enter  the  court.  On  the  left  you  will  find  a  flight  of 
stairs.  Go  up  to  the  last  landing,  then  into  a  dark 
corridor  which  you  will  find  at  the  right.  At  the 
end  of  it  there  is  a  pile  of  wood;  stay  there  and 
wait." 

Lavalette  thought  he  was  dreaming.  He  seemed 
seized  with  vertigo.  What  house  is  it  at  whose  door 
his  guide  is  knocking  ?  It  is  the  hStel  of  the  Min- 
ister of  Foreign  Affairs,  the  residence  of  the  presi- 
dent of  the  council,  the  Duke  of  Richelieu  !  Can 
there  be  treason  ?  What  can  be  the  solution  of  the 
enigma?  Meantime  the  door  opens.  M.  Baudus 
enters.  Lavalette  follows.  "Where  is  this  man 
going?"  asks  the  porter.  "He  is  my  servant." 
Lavalette  goes  up  to  the  third  floor  and  stops  at  the 
pile  of  wood  indicated.  A  woman  grasps  him  softly 
by  the  arm  and  pushes  him  into  a  dark  room  the  door 
of  which  closes  behind  him.  Placing  his  hands  on  a 
stove  to  warm  them,  he  finds  a  candle  and  matches. 
He  strikes  a  light  and  then  examines  his  new  domi- 
cile. It  is  a  little  garret-room  with  a  very  tidy  bed, 
two  chairs,  and  a  chest  of  drawers.  On  the  latter  is 
a  paper  on  which  are  written  these  words :  "  No 
noise.  Open  the  window  only  at  night ;  wear  list 
slippers  and  wait  patiently."  Beside  this  paper  are 
a  bottle  of  excellent  Bordeaux  wine,  some  volumes 


360  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULAmE 

of  Moliere  and  Rabelais,  a  pretty  basket  of  sponges, 
perfumed  soap,  almond  cream,  and  all  the  minor 
adjuncts  of  a  careful  toilet.  Now  more  and  more 
does  the  condemned  man  believe  himself  the  sport 
of  a  dream. 

A  few  minutes  afterwards  M.  Baudus,  who  is 
publicist  to  the  foreign  bureau,  enters  the  room, 
and  seeing  Lavalette  filled  with  surprise,  he  says: 
"  Calm  your  imagination ;  it  is  all  true  ;  on  the  day 
before  yesterday  Madame  de  Lavalette  sent  word 
that  she  would  like  to  see  me  at  her  house,  and  when 
the  servants  had  left  the  room  and  the  doors  were 
closed,  she  said :  '  I  wish  to  save  my  husband,  since 
pardon  cannot  be  secured ;  but  I  do  not  know  where 
he  can  find  asylum.  Procure  me  the  means  of  con- 
cealing him.'  —  'Give  me  two  hours,'  I  answered. 
'I  am  on  terms  of  the  closest  friendship  with  a 
famil}''  which  has  known  misfortune,  and  whose 
courage  and  devotion  are  admirable.'  '  Go  quickly,' 
replied  your  wife ;  '  explain  my  position  to  them ; 
they  will  give  me  life  by  concealing  my  husband.'  I 
left  her ;  I  came  here.  .  .  .  Listen !  do  not  be  impa- 
tient. You  are  now  at  the  house  of  M.  Bresson, 
chief  of  the  exchequer  department  of  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs." 

Lavalette  was  more  perplexed  than  ever.  "Let 
me  proceed,"  said  his  interlocutor.  "  After  the  pro- 
scription of  her  husband,  and  profoundly  grateful 
to  the  friends  who  concealed  him,  Madame  Bresson 
vowed  to  save  some  unfortunate  man  n^iio  had  been 


MADAME  I)E  LAVALETTE  361 

condemned  on  political  grounds,  if  Providence  would 
but  kindly  send  one  to  her.  I  went  to  find  her  — 
'  Your  prayer  is  answered,'  said  I ;  and  then  I  told 
her  your  story  and  that  of  Madame  de  Lavalette. 
'  Would  that  he  might  come ! '  she  replied  with 
enthusiasm.  '  My  husband  is  absent,  but  there  is  no 
need  of  consulting  him  when  doing  a  good  deed ; 
he  shares  my  feelings.  I  will  go  and  prepare  a 
room  where  the  unhappy  man  may  be  safe.  Run  and 
tell  Madame  de  Lavalette.  It  is  by  a  sort  of  mir- 
acle that  you  came  to  me.'  Now,  you  know  how 
important  it  is  to  our  generous  friends  that  no  one 
should  ever  know  that  they  gave  you  this  asylum ; 
the  whole  family  would  be  ruined.  M.  Bresson  needs 
his  employment ;  he  has  a  daughter  and  nephews 
to  establish  ;  a  functionary  and  lodged  in  a  house 
owned  by  the  King,  and  who  is  honored  with  the 
confidence  of  his  minister,  he  is  under  no  illusion 
as  to  the  irregularity  of  his  action,  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  he  is  convinced  of  your  innocence,  and  what 
are  all  these  considerations  when  weighed  in  the 
balance  against  a  man's  life  ?  We  intend  to  get  you 
away  from  here,  and  see  you  across  the  frontier, 
and  this  will  be  no  easy  matter.  But  Providence 
will  not  permit  us  to  fail." 

M.  Baudus  withdrew,  and  Lavalette  remained 
alone  for  two  hours,  hardly  daring  to  breathe,  and 
reflecting  mournfully  on  the  situation  of  his  poor 
wife,  left  by  him  in  his  cell.  About  eleven  o'clock 
in  the   evening,   the   door  opened  again.     He   saw 


362  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL&ME 

an  elegantly  dressed  woman  enter,  veiled  and  ac- 
companied by  a  girl  about  fourteen  years  old.  The 
lady  threw  herself  into  his  arms.  "  In  God's  name, 
raise  your  veil,  Madame,  that  I  may  at  last  know 
the  angel  to  whom  I  owe  my  safety !  "  —  "  We  are 
not  acquainted  with  each  other,"  said  she,  unveiling. 
"  But  I  am  happy  to  be  associated  in  the  heroic  deed 
of  Madame  de  Lavalette."  She  laid  some  food  on 
the  stove.  "  There  is  your  dinner,"  she  added.  "You 
will  have  poor  fare,  but  we  had  to  steal  from  our- 
selves to  nourish  you.  I  will  confide  our  secret  to 
none  of  the  domestics ;  all  of  them  room  in  this 
corridor,  and  the  next  chamber  is  occupied  by  my 
nephew  Stanislas.  Therefore  make  no  noise  in  the 
morning ;  make  your  bed  and  sweep  your  room  your- 
self. As  the  chamber  is  supposed  to  be  unoccupied, 
the  least  noise  heard  in  it  might  ruin  us  all." 

Magnanimous  hospitality  like  this  is  honorable  to 
human  nature  in  a  time  of  bloody  reaction  when  a 
sort  of  White  Terror  recalled  the  detestable  passions 
of  the  Red  Terror.  "  I  knew  M.  Bresson  no  better 
than  his  wife,"  says  Count  de  Lavalette  in  his  Me- 
moirs. "I  had  seen  him  once,  five  years  before, 
when  I  set  out  for  Saxony,  and  perhaps  once  again 
when  I  returned,  and  when  our  business  connections 
were  ended,  —  since  I  did  not  remain  in  diplomatic 
life,  —  we  never  met  again.  M.  Bresson  was  a 
man  of  very  agreeable  appearance,  of  delicate  and 
cultivated  intelligence,  and  an  energy  of  character 
of  which  he  had  often  given  the  most  distinguished 


MADAME  BE  LAV  ALETTE  363 

proofs.  It  was  not  his  attachment  to  the  Emperor 
that  led  him  into  so  dangerous  a  situation  in  order  to 
save  me  ;  for  I  doubt  that  he  ever  had  much  liking 
either  for  his  person  or  his  government.  It  was  a 
profoundly  humane  feeling  and  a  most  courageous 
protest  against  political  sentences,  of  one  of  which  he 
himself  had  been  the  victim." 

M.  Bresson  was  born  at  Darney,  in  the  Vosges,  in 
1760,  and  was  one  of  the  representatives  of  that  de- 
partment in  the  Convention.  He  voted  against  the 
death  of  Louis  XVI.  Outlawed  after  the  31st  of 
May,  he  took  refuge  among  the  Vosges  peasants, 
who  sheltered  him  and  saved  his  life  at  the  risk  of 
their  own.  After  the  9th  Thermidor,  he  had  a  seat 
in  the  Convention  again,  and  subsequently  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Council  during  the  Hundred  Days. 
In  1799  he  became  head  of  the  exchequer  division  of 
the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  held  that  office 
till  1825.  (After  the  Revolution  he  abandoned  the 
"  de  "  to  which  he  was  entitled.  He  opened  up  the 
diplomatic  career  to  his  nephew,  who  was  ambassador 
to  Madrid  under  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  and 
negotiated  the  famous  Spanish  Marriages.) 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  hiding-place  of  the  con- 
demned man  in  the  mansion  of  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  describe  what  is  taking  place  there  on 
the  evening  of  the  20th  of  December,  1815.  Madame 
Bresson  has  just  left  Lavalette.  M.  Bresson  enters. 
"  I  have  just  been  at  the  salons  of  some  of  the  high 
dignitaries,"   says    he    to    his   guest,    with   a   laugh. 


864  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULtUE 

"  You  can  have  no  conception  of  the  dread  and  con- 
sternation by  which  everybody  is  overcome.  No  one 
at  the  Tuileries  will  go  to  bed ;  they  are  all  convinced 
that  some  great  plot  is  about  to  explode.  They  see 
you  at  the  head  of  the  army,  and  all  Paris  springing 
to  arms.  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  the  foreign  troops, 
who  are  setting  out  for  home,  were  kept  back. 
They  talk  of  closing  the  gates.  Imagine  what  the 
effect  of  that  would  be.  The  milkwomen  couldn't 
come  in  to-morrow,  and  so  there  would  be  no  more 
milk  for  the  breakfasts  of  those  good  ladies !  And 
just  to  think  that  it  was  I,  I  who  have  you  under  lock 
and  key,  who  heard  all  these  lamentations ! " 

Meantime,  what  is  going  on  at  the  Conciergerie  ? 
What  has  become  of  Madame  de  Lavalette?  The 
jailor  enters  the  cell  a  few  minutes  after  the  prisoner 
has  left  it.  On  seeing  the  wife  in  place  of  the  husband, 
he  gives  a  cry  of  surprise.  Madame  de  Lavalette 
throws  herself  upon  him,  trying  to  keep  him  in  the 
room,  but  he  breaks  away  from  her  by  force.  Then 
the  jailors  and  policemen  rush  headlong  in  every 
direction,  looking  for  traces  of  the  sedan  chair.  They 
find  the  chair,  but  within  it  is  only  the  prisoner's 
daughter. 

The  late  Duke  of  Broglie  says  in  his  Souvenirs : 
"  Nothing  can  convey  any  idea  of  the  joy  occasioned 
all  over  Paris  by  the  condemned  man's  escape, — 
that  is  to  say,  all  over  Paris  outside  the  court  and 
the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain.  A  little  more,  and  the 
city   would  have   been   illuminated.     Early  in   the 


MADAME  BE  LAV  ALETTE  365 

morning  M.  de  Montrond  came  to  my  house  and 
told  me  with  a  coolness  that  he  alone  could  keep 
up  in  pleasantry:  'Dress  yourself;  get  your  weap- 
ons ;  a  terrible  crime  has  just  been  perpetrated ;  in 
defiance  of  all  laws,  human  and  divine,  M.  de 
Lavalette  has  escaped  from  jail  in  a  sedan  chair,  and 
as  soon  as  he  heard  the  news  the  King  jumped  into 
another  sedan  chair.  He  is  pursuing  him  in  hot 
haste,  but  it  is  feared  that  he  will  not  capture  him. 
M.  de  Lavalette's  carriers  have  the  start,  and  he  is 
not  so  pursy  as  the  King.'" 

The  mystification  of  the  proscribei-s  caused  genuine 
amusement.  On  the  26th  of  December,  M.  de  R^- 
musat  wrote  to  his  mother :  "  Good-morning,  mother. 
This  letter  will  reach  you  on  New  Year's  Day,  and 
it  grieves  me  much  that  now,  for  the  first  time,  I 
cannot  begin  the  year  at  your  side.  But  I  am  hardly 
in  trim  to  do  so,  seeing  that  for  the  last  eight  days 
I  have  almost  died  of  laughter.  Although  our  poli- 
tics is  going  to  the  devil,  yet  the  approach  of  the 
Carnival  gives  it  such  a  little  air  of  burlesque  that 
I  have  determined  to  look  on  instead  of  going  into 
black.  In  the  first  place,  what  do  you  think  of  M. 
de  Lavalette's  escape  in  a  sedan  chair?  M.  Angles, 
the  prefect  of  police,  fainted  dead  away  when  he 
heard  of  it.  M.  Bellas t,  the  procureur-general, 
was  sent  to  interrogate  Madame  de  Lavalette  in 
prison,  and  she  was  so  much  disturbed  and  broken- 
down  that  she  answered  his  questions  only  with 
bursts  of  nervous  laughter,  which  were  duly  recorded 


366  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

in  the  report.  Meantime,  there  is  the  Chamber,  buzz- 
ing, muttering,  and  in  a  tumult.  And  there  was 
that  beautiful  meeting  on  Saturday !  M.  de  Bouville 
swears  that  being  dressed  like  a  woman,  M.  de 
Lavalette  must  have  betrayed  his  sex  in  his  walk,  and 
all  agree  in  the  opinion  that  his  escape  is  a  suifi- 
cient  reason  for  throwing  the  Amnesty  Bill  over. 
There  is  nothing  to  do  but  laugh  at  such  talk,  other- 
wise it  would  produce  horror.  .  .  .  You  should  have 
seen  a  little  lady  in  pink  at  M.  de  Marbois's  house, 
purse  her  lips  and  say  mincingly  to  the  keeper  of 
the  seals :  '  Sha'n't  we  go  back  to  our  old  modes  of 
punishment  ? ' " 

Madame  de  Lavalette  was  kept  in  seclusion  at  the 
Conciergerie,  where  she  was  confined  in  Marshal 
Ney's  cell,  which  overlooked  the  woman's  court. 
Annoyed  by  the  loud  cries  and  indecent  language  of 
these  unfortunates,  constantly  assailed  by  a  thousand 
terrors,  in  the  blackness  of  darkness,  when  the 
keepers  retired,  and  imagining  at  every  minute  that 
they  were  bringing  her  husband  back  to  prison,  she 
passed  twenty-five  days  and  nights  without  a  moment's 
sleep.  Her  agitation  and  sufferings  ended  by  driving 
her  mad,  and  she  did  not  recover  her  reason  till  twelve 
years  afterwards. 

M.  and  Mme.  Bresson  were  finally  obliged  to  take 
their  domestics  into  the  secret.  None  of  them  betrayed 
it.  Lavalette  remained  hidden  in  Paris  till  the  7th 
of  January,  1816,  the  day  on  which  he  was  executed 
in    effigy   on   the   square  of  the  Palais  de  Justice. 


MADAME  BE  LAV  ALETTE  367 


Everything  was  strange  in  this  affair  in  which  reality 
surpassed  the  fictions  of  the  wildest  romance,  and  not 
the  least  strange  thing  about  it  was  that  in  the  end 
he  owed  his  deliverance  to  an  English  general,  Sir 
Robert  Wilson,  who  was  formerly  a  bitter  enemy  of 
Napoleon,  but  who  was  indignant  at  the  persecution 
of  the  Bonapartists.  With  the  aid  of  two  of  his 
countrymen,  Mr.  Bruce  and  Mr.  Hutchinson,  General 
Wilson  furnished  Lavalette  with  a  British  uniform, 
and,  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  succeeded  in  getting 
him  out  of  France.  He  found  refuge  in  Bavaria. 
Prince  Eugene  de  Beauharnais,  his  wife's  cousin- 
german,  gave  him  a  friendly  reception.  But  the  pro- 
scribed man  was  still  in  fear  of  a  requisition  from  the 
French  legation.  He  had  to  live  in  retirement  and 
under  a  fictitious  name  in  Bavaria;  nor  was  it  till 
1822  that  a  pardon  opened  the  gates  of  France  to  him 
again.  On  this  subject  M.  Cuvillier-Fleury  says,  in 
an  interesting  note :  "  Lavalette  thought  to  spend 
some  happy  days  in  France,  but  when  he  arrived  at 
Paris,  one  voice  was  silent  amid  the  congratulations 
with  which  his  return  was  greeted.  It  was  his  wife's 
voice.  Fi'om  the  decisive  hour  in  which,  with  a 
supreme  effort,  she  bade  him  flee,  and  remained  as 
a  hostage  in  his  stead,  she  had  not  once  seen  him. 
She  saw  him  reappear  without  emotion  and  without 
shedding  a  tear.  Did  she  even  recognize  him  ?  Poor 
unfortunate !  She  lost  her  reason  that  he  might  be 
saved.     The  last  trial  surpassed  all  the  rest." 

Lavalette,  who  died  on  the  15th  of  February,  1830, 


368  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL&ME 

passed  his  last  years  in  tranquillity.  His  Me- 
moir's end  with  this  touching  phrase :  "  Madame  de 
Lavalette's  health  is  at  last  so  far  restored  that  I 
can  have  her  with  me.  At  times  she  is  plunged  in  a 
profound  melancholy,  but  she  remains  sweet,  lovable, 
and  good.  We  live  in  retirement,  and  summer  in 
the  country  pleases  her  greatly.  I  have  retained  my 
independence,  —  the  chief  of  blessings,  —  without  a 
pension,  without  distinction,  and  without  indemnity, 
after  a  long  career  dedicated  to  the  service  of  my 
country ;  but  still  offering  prayers  for  liberty,  which 
may,  perhaps,  never  be  granted,  and  living  in  the 
midst  of  memories  of  a  great  epoch  and  a  great  man." 
To  sum  up  all,  few  episodes  in  the  history  of  the 
nineteenth  century  are  so  dramatic  and  touching  as 
the  captivity  and  escape  of  Count  de  Lavalette. 
Now  that  political  passions  have  died  away,  one  can 
hardly  believe  that  such  exaggerations,  such  injus- 
tice, and  such  cruelties  could  ever  arise  from  party 
spirit.  No  matter  what  opinions  he  may  hold,  who 
is  there  to-day  whose  heart  is  not  melted  at  the 
recital  of  the  heroism  of  Madame  de  Lavalette,  or 
who  does  not  render  all  homage  to  her  energy,  suffer 
in  her  sufferings,  and  share  in  her  woes  ?  How  can 
one  help  pitying  that  admirable  woman  and  that  little 
girl  who  was  associated  in  such  a  touching  way  with 
her  mother's  devotion  ?  Ah,  well !  can  it  be  be- 
lieved? Yet  in  1815,  in  aristocratic  salons  at  Paris 
there  were  shrieks  of  rage,  —  and  curses  directed  not 
only  against  the  mother,  but  against  the  little  child, 


MADAME  BE  LAV  ALETTE  369 

—  against  a  girl  only  twelve  years  of  age  !  Her 
filial  piety  was  treated  as  a  crime !  In  his  Memoirs 
M.  Guizot  describes  this  shameless  prodigy  of  hate 
with  mingled  sorrow  and  surprise  :  "  At  that  time," 
says  he,  "I  heard  a  woman  of  fashion,  who  on 
ordinary  occasions  showed  sense  and  goodness,  say, 
apropos  of  the  way  in  which  Mademoiselle  de  Lava- 
lette  had  assisted  her  mother  to  save  her  father: 
'  The  little  villain ! '  When  such  frenzied  senti- 
ments and  language  burst  bounds  around  kings  and 
their  advisers,  they  are  plain  warnings  of  what  is 
coming." 

Lavalette  himself  thus  tells  the  story  of  the  perse- 
cution of  his  pleasant-mannered  and  innocent  child : 
"  My  daughter  entered  the  convent  in  such  a  trans- 
port of  joy,  and  agitated  with  such  powerful  emotion, 
that  she  could  not  explain  the  way  in  which  she  had 
helped  to  save  her  father.  But  when  all  came  to 
light  on  the  next  day,  the  lady  superior,  whose  estab- 
lishment had  just  come  under  the  protection  of  the 
Duchess  of  Angouleme,  was  seized  with  fear.  My 
daughter  was  ordered  not  to  speak ;  the  nuns,  and 
even  some  of  her  fellow-pupils,  held  aloof  from  her, 
as  if  she  had  been  tainted  with  the  plague.  Will  it 
be  credited  ?  The  relatives  of  several  of  the  pupils 
told  the  lady  superior  that  they  would  withdraw 
their  children  from  the  convent  if  Josephine  Lava- 
lette remained  in  it.  And  thus  did  feai-,  personal 
interest,  and  perhaps  the  vilest  passions,  make  a  sort 
of  crime  and  a  reason  for  persecution  out  of  a  laud- 


370  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

able  and  generous  action  that  should  have  served 
as  an  example  to  the  young.  Six  weeks  afterwards, 
when  Madame  de  Lavalette  was  released,  she  at  once 
withdrew  her  daughter  from  the  convent." 

The  sentiment  of  justice,  which  is  the  crowning 
glory  of  human  nature,  always  ends  by  asserting  its 
rights  when  once  political  crises  have  ceased  to  exist. 
Lavalette,  the  man  once  condemned  to  death,  the 
man  who  had  been  executed  in  effigy,  died  univer- 
sally esteemed  and  honored.  M.  Cuvillier-Fleury 
was  right  in  saying :  "  Spirits  of  men  of  all  parties 
who  are  condemned  for  political  reasons  and  stricken 
down  in  your  strength  by  the  thunderbolts  of  the 
storm,  let  the  fate  of  Lavalette  be  your  consolation  ! 
You  are  rehabilitated  in  the  person  of  this  man." 
Those  who  had  proscribed  him  themselves  honored 
and  admired  his  great-hearted  wife.  Statesmen 
should  reflect  on  this  lesson  when  they  are  tempted 
to  give  themselves  up  to  hatred  or  anger.  The  pas- 
sions of  the  reaction  of  1815  were  futile,  and  the 
name  of  Madame  de  Lavalette  will  shine  with  im- 
mortal splendor  in  the  constellation  of  heroines  who 
did  their  duty,  and  of  martyrs  to  devotion. 

We  recently  had  the  honor  of  paying  our  respects 
to  her  daughter,  Josephine  de  Lavalette,  the  widow 
of  Baron  de  Forget,  —  to  her  who,  seventy  years  ago, 
had  aided  in  the  miraculous  escape  from  the  Con- 
ciergerie.  Of  all  living  women,  she  is  the  only  one 
who  took  part  in  the  events  of  1815.  Loved  and 
respected,  the  Baroness  of  Forget  lives  at  Paris  in 


MADAME  1)E  LAVALETTE  371 

the  bouse  in  which  her  mother  died,  No.  19,  in  the 
rue  de  La  Rochefoucauld.  Her  large  parlors  are  a 
museum  hung  with  portraits  and  souvenirs  of  her 
family.  Under  Horace  Vernet's  picture  of  the  Con- 
ciergerie  at  the  moment  of  the  storied  escape,  is 
a  sword  of  Murad  Bey's  which  General  Bonaparte 
gave  to  his  aide-de-camp,  Lavalette,  on  the  very 
evening  of  the  battle  of  the  Pyramids.  It  was  with 
deep  veneration  that  we  saluted  the  worthy  daughter 
of  the  heroine  of  conjugal  love  and  the  noble  woman 
who  in  her  admirable  old  age  still  preserved  all  the 
quickness  of  intelligence,  every  charm  of  conversa- 
tion, and  every  amiable  quality  of  mind  and  heart. 

These  lines  were  written  in  October,  1886.     Some 
days  afterward  the  Baroness  of  Forget  died  at  Paris. 


IX 

THE  BEGINNING  OF   1816 

BEYOND  contradiction,  the  year  1815  was  one 
of  the  most  terrible  and  dolorous  in  the  history 
of  France.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1816,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Chamber  said  to  the  King :  "  Sire,  your 
faithful  subjects  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  wish 
you,  and  are  preparing  for  you,  a  most  happy  new 
year."  Little  tact  or  cautiousness  was  shown  in 
these  laconic  words,  and  the  King  thought  that  there 
was  a  certain  air  of  patronage  about  them.  The  year 
1816  opened  in  the  midst  of  a  complete  reaction 
which  Louis  XVIII.,  more  moderate  than  those  by 
whom  he  was  surrounded,  sought  in  vain  to  suppress. 
There  were  no  such  ideas  of  pacification,  conciliation, 
and  clemency  as  had  marked  the  beginning  of  the 
first  Restoration.  The  second  was  as  ruthless  as  the 
first  had  been  benignant.  The  passions  of  the  ultra- 
royalists  knew  no  bounds.  The  aristocratic  salons 
of  Paris  were  notorious  for  their  hate  and  bitterness. 
The  escape  of  Lavalette  had  made  them  insane. 

Debate   on   the   amnesty  bill  was   opened  in  the 
Chamber  on  the  2d  of  January.    In  spite  of  the  King, 
the  regicides  who  had  taken  any  part  whatsoever  in 
872 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  1816  373 


the  events  of  the  Hundred  Days,  were  added  to  the 
list  of  the  proscribed.  This  measure  was  carried  at 
the  session  of  the  6th  of  January  through  the  influ- 
ence of  General  de  B^thisy,  a  former  officer  in  the 
army  of  Cond^,  who  exclaimed :  "  Gentlemen,  never 
permit  yourselves  to  forget  that  the  motto  of  our 
fathers  was:  Right,  Honor,  and  the  King.  And  if 
inflexible  honor  impels  us  for  an  instant  to  go  beyond 
the  King's  wishes ;  and  if,  displeased  at  his  faithful 
servants  when  he  sees  them  oppose  his  royal  and 
pious  clemency,  he  for  a  moment  shall  turn  aside 
from  us  that  kindly  regard,  which  is  our  highest 
reward,  we  will  say  with  the  people  of  the  west  and 
with  the  noble  soldiers  of  the  throne  and  altar  whose 
love  for  the  Bourbons  nothing  can  change :  '  Long 
live  the  King  when  he  is  himself ! '  " 

The  anniversary  of  the  execution  of  Louis  XVI., 
instead  of  recalling  the  words  of  pardon  written  in 
the  martyred  King's  will,  inspired  the  ultra-royalists 
with  what  they  called  a  sacred  wrath.  Clemency 
was  taxed  with  weakness  and  pusillanimity.  The 
opinion  that  it  was  the  King's  first  duty  to  reassure 
the  good  and  make  the  wicked  tremble  was  endlessly 
repeated.  On  the  9th  of  January,  Chateaubriand 
recounted  in  the  Chamber  of  Peers  the  events  that 
had  taken  place  since  the  21st  of  January  in  the  pre- 
ceding year,  "  How  sincere,"  said  he,  "  then  seemed 
the  repentance  of  some  men !  How  gladly  did  the 
King  pardon  them !  But  when  their  second  treason 
drove  us  from  our  native  soil,  did  they  think  that  we 


374  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

should  ever  be  here  once  more  to  celebrate  the  second 
expiatory  rites?  They  hoped  nevermore  to  hear  of 
those  dead  men  who  now  bear  witness  against  them 
before  the  living  God.  It  was  in  order  to  confound 
them,  that  God  packed  within  the  little  space  of  a 
year  events  that  could  hardly  be  crowded  into  an 
age ;  men  and  things  went  headlong,  rushing  by  like 
a  torrent,  and  in  France  all  has  passed,  so  to  say, 
between  two  funerals.  Setting  out  from  a  tomb,  we 
returned  to  a  tomb  and,  of  all  the  projects  then  in 
mind,  not  one  has  been  carried  into  effect  except 
that  which  Louis  XVIII.  formed  in  regard  to  the 
remains  of  the  King,  his  brother." 

In  the  following  words  the  author  of  the  GSnie  du 
Christianisme  then  recalled  the  pathetic  disinterments 
of  1815 :  "  In  the  opened  grave,  I  saw,  gentlemen, 
the  bones  of  Louis  XVI.  together  with  the  quicklime 
that  had  consumed  the  flesh,  but  which  could  not 
remove  the  traces  of  the  crime.  I  saw  the  skeleton 
of  Marie  Antoinette  intact  under  the  shelter  of  a 
vault  that  had  formed  above  her,  as  by  miracle.  The 
head  alone  was  displaced  and,  in  the  form  of  that 
head  (Great  God  I)  could  still  be  recognized  the  fea- 
tures which  expressed  at  once  the  graciousness  of  a 
woman  and  the  majesty  of  a  queen.  That,  gentlemen, 
is  what  I  saw ;  those  are  remembrances  over  which 
we  can  never  shed  enough  of  tears,  and  those  are 
deeds  which  man  can  never  expiate  I  Though  you 
raise  in  memory  of  those  great  victims  a  monument 
like  the  tombs  which  defy  the  ages  in  the  deserts  of 


THE  BEGINNING    OF  1816  375 

Egypt,  you  will  not  even  then  have  done  enough, 
nor  would  even  so  great  a  mass  of  stones  hide  from 
view  the  traces  of  blood  that  can  never  be  effaced.  .  .  . 
Religion  alone  can  make  our  marks  of  grief  equal  to 
the  greatness  of  such  adversities.  For  that  it  needs 
neither  magnificent  pomps  nor  splendid  mausoleums ; 
a  few  tears,  a  day  of  fast,  an  altar,  a  simple  stone  on 
which  the  name  of  the  King  is  carved,  will  suffice 
him." 

At  the  very  time  when  the  Restoration  was  becom- 
ing pitiless  to  the  valiant  soldiers  of  France,  at  a 
time  when  the  blood  of  the  bravest  of  the  brave  was 
yet  smoking,  and  many  proscribed  men  were  going 
into  exile,  the  Moniteur  of  the  16th  of  January,  1816, 
published  the  following  article,  the  mildness  of  which 
contrasted  strangely  with  the  still  recent  vigorous 
proceedings ;  "  Saturday,  the  20th  of  January,  will  be 
a  day  of  general  mourning  throughout  France.  A 
great  expiation  will  take  place.  Madame  and  all  the 
Princes  will  go  to  Saint-Denis.  The  will  of  the  mar- 
tyred King  will  be  read  in  forty  thousand  churches. 
On  this  great  and  solemn  occasion,  may  all  hatreds, 
all  ultra  opinions,  and  all  thoughts  of  ambition  and 
vengeance  cease  !  As  the  price  of  the  blood  that  he 
shed  on  the  scaffold,  the  best  of  kings  demands  from 
the  abyss  of  the  tomb,  or  rather  from  the  height  of 
heaven,  the  reconciliation  of  all  his  children  and  the 
peace  and  happiness  of  France.  The  sons  of  Saint 
Louis  have  entered  into  their  heritage  ;  be  it  ours  to 
preserve  it.     They  keep  watch  over  us ;   let  us  keep 


876  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOUL^ME 

watch  over  them.  The  whole  great  family  of 
Frenchmen  is  held  in  the  heart  of  the  King.  The 
King  should  be  held  in  the  hearts  of  that  mighty- 
family." 

The  final  funeral  solemnities  of  Louis  XVI.  and 
Marie  Antoinette  were  celebrated  on  the  20th  of 
January  at  the  abbey  church  of  Saint^Denis.  Mon- 
sieur the  King's  brother,  the  Duke  of  Berry,  the 
Prince  of  Cond^,  the  Dowager  Duchess  of  Orleans, 
and  the  Duchess  of  Bourbon  were  present.  The 
Duchess  of  Angouleme  was  there  also.  The  place 
she  occupied  was  closed,  and  thus  her  sorrow  was 
hidden  from  all  eyes.  It  is  easy  to  understand  the 
emotions  that  swayed  her  soul  when  she  listened  to 
the  solemn  reading  of  her  father's  will.  The  cere- 
mony made  a  strong  impression  upon  her.  No 
place  of  sepulture  has  a  more  mournful  grandeur 
than  the  abbey  church  of  Saint-Denis.  The  royal 
vault  of  the  Bourbons  is  the  most  sombre  place  in 
the  crypt.  No  light  enters  it  save  from  the  dark 
crypt  itself ;  no  eye  can  pierce  into  it  except  through 
a  small  grated  window  and  by  the  use  of  a  torch 
which  casts  only  a  doubtful  and  sinister  light  upon 
the  interior.  Those  sepulchral  shadows  aroused  most 
serious  reflection  in  the  minds  of  those  who  beheld 
them.  Throughout  the  whole  day  the  capital  put  on 
an  appearance  of  exceptional  gravity.  In  the  even- 
ing all  the  theatres  were  closed. 

The  Chambers  took  advantage  of  the  anniversary 
of  the  21st  of  January  to  unite  in  an  address  to  the 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  1816  377 

King,  in  which  terms  were  employed  expressive  of 
their  horror  of  regicide.  The  address  ended  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Sire,  we  have  not  fallen  away  from  the  loy- 
alty of  our  ancestors.  So  long  as  your  illustrious 
race  exists,  we  will  be  faithful  to  it.  We  will  ever 
recognize  as  our  lawful  kings  only  the  princes  of 
that  race  on  whom  the  law  of  primogeniture  im- 
presses the  characteristics  of  your  race.  Before  God 
and  man  we  swear  that  the  French  name  shall  be 
lost  in  oblivion  rather  than  we  be  false  to  our 
oaths  of  honor ! "  This  address  was  signed  by  all 
the  peers  and  all  the  deputies  without  exception, 
and  they  expressed  their  desire  that  it  should  be 
carved  on  a  bronze  tablet,  together  with  all  the  sig- 
natures, and  be  sealed  in  the  expiatory  monument 
which  they  were  about  to  decree  for  a  public  square, 
that  should  be  called  the  Place  du  Vingt-et-un  Jan- 
vier. It  might  be  curious  to  note  how  many  of  the 
signatories  were  faithless,  less  than  fifteen  years  later, 
to  an  oath  so  solemn. 

The  emotion  caused  by  the  action  of  the  two 
Chambers  was  still  felt  when  an  unexpected  accident 
cast  new  lustre  on  the  memory  of  Queen  Marie 
Antoinette.  A  letter  was  discovered  which  the 
Queen  had  written  to  her  sister-in-law,  Madame 
Elisabeth,  on  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  she 
was  executed.  It  began  in  this  way:  "My  dear 
sister:  I  write  to  you  for  the  last  time;  I  have 
just  been  condemned,  —  not  to  a  shameful  death, 
for  it  is  so  only  to  criminals,  —  but  to  rejoin  your 


378  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

brother.  Innocent  like  him,  I  hope  to  display  the 
same  firmness  that  he  showed  in  his  last  moments. 
I  am  calm,  as  one  always  is  whose  conscience  does 
not  upbraid  him.  I  greatly  regret  leaving  my  poor 
children.  You  know  that  I  exist  alone  for  them  and 
for  you,  my  good  and  tender  sister.  In  what  a  posi- 
tion I  leave  you  who,  through  your  friendship,  have 
sacrificed  everything  to  be  with  us !  .  .  .  Take  my 
blessing  to  the  two.  I  trust  that  some  day  when 
they  are  older  they  may  be  with  you  and  enjoy  to 
the  full  your  tender  care.  .  .  .  Let  my  daughter 
remember  that,  at  her  age,  she  should  always  aid  her 
brother  with  the  counsels  her  wider  experience  will 
give  her  and  her  affection  may  suggest !  .  .  .  Let 
both  remember  that  in  their  condition  they  can  be 
really  happy  only  through  being  united !  Let  them 
follow  our  example !  What  consolation  in  our  mis- 
fortunes did  not  our  friendship  yield!  And  happi- 
ness is  doubly  enjoyed  when  it  is  shared  with  a 
friend ;  and  where  can  one  find  happiness  more  ten- 
der and  more  dear  than  in  his  own  family  ?  Let  my 
son  never  forget  the  last  words  of  his  father,  who 
said  to  him  expressly:  'Never  seek  to  avenge  our 
death!'" 

Nothing  more  touching  and  Christian-like  can  be 
imagined  than  the  conclusion  of  the  letter.  The 
Queen  wrote :  "  I  sincerely  crave  God's  pardon  for 
all  the  faults  I  have  committed  since  my  birth.  I 
hope  that  in  His  mercy  He  will  hear  my  last  prayers, 
and  those  which  I  have  so  long  offered  that  He  would 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  1816  379 

receive  my  soul  in  His  pity  and  goodness.  I  ask  par- 
don of  all  whom  I  know,  and  particularly  of  you,  my 
sister,  for  all  the  trouble  that  I  have  involuntarily 
given  you.  I  pardon  all  my  enemies  the  evil  they 
have  wrought.  I  bid  adieu  to  my  aunts  and  all  my 
brothers  and  sisters.  I  have  had  friends,  and  tlie 
thought  of  being  forever  separated  from  them  is  one 
of  my  heaviest  regrets  in  dying;  let  them  be  assured 
that  I  thought  of  them  till  my  last  moment." 

When  Marie  Antoinette  had  ended  this  pathetic 
letter,  she  covered  it  with  kisses  and  tears,  and  sent 
it  to  Bault,  the  keeper  of  the  prison,  begging  him 
to  transmit  it  to  Madame  Elisabeth.  The  keeper 
did  not  dare  to  comply  with  this  request,  and  took 
the  letter  to  Fouquier-Tinville,  the  public  prosecu- 
tor, who,  instead  of  sending  it  to  its  destination, 
confiscated  and  added  it  to  the  documents  of  the 
trial.  After  the  9th  Thermidor,  the  Conventionist 
Courtois,  who  was  intrusted  with  the  examination 
of  Robespierre's  papers,  found  among  them  this 
memorable  letter,  of  whose  existence  no  one  yet 
knew,  and,  in  February,  1816,  when  M.  Courtois's 
house  was  searched,  it  was  discovered  by  the  gov- 
ernment agents.  Louis  XVIII.  decided  that  on  the 
22d  of  February,  it  should  be  formally  communicated 
to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  by  Count  Decazes,  Min- 
ister of  Police,  and  to  the  Chamber  of  Peers  by  the 
Duke  of  Richelieu,  President  of  the  Council.  As 
soon  as  the  reading  of  it  was  ended,  M.  de  Chateau- 
briand  arose   and  said :     "  Gentlemen,  it   is   just   a 


380  THE  DUCUESS  OF  ANGOUL^ME 

month  since  the  day  when  you  were  summoned  to 
Saint-Denis.  There  you  listened  to  the  Gospel  of  the 
day,  —  the  will  of  Louis  XVI.  Four  hours  before 
her  death  Marie  Antoinette  wrote  what  you  have 
but  now  heard.  Did  you  notice  in  that  letter  any 
sign  of  weakness  ?  Deep  in  her  cell,  Marie  Antoi- 
nette wrote  to  Madame  Elisabeth  as  calmly  as  she 
would  have  written  had  she  been  surrounded  with 
adoration  and  pomp  at  Versailles.  The  chief  crime 
committed  by  the  Revolution  was  the  King's  death, 
but  the  most  appalling  crime  was  the  death  of  the 
Queen.  The  King  preserved  at  least  something  of 
royalty  amid  his  hardships  and  even  to  the  scaffold. 
The  members  of  the  tribunal  of  those  pretended 
judges  were  many ;  the  son  of  Saint  Louis  had 
a  priest  of  his  religion  when  he  went  to  death, 
and  he  was  not  dragged  there  in  the  common  cart 
of  victims.  But  the  daughter  of  Csesars,  clad  in 
rags  and  reduced  to  patching  her  own  garments, 
insulted  before  an  infamous  tribunal  by  a  few  as- 
sassins who  called  themselves  judges,  carried  to 
execution  on  a  tumbrel,  and  yet  always  a  queen! 
.  .  .  Gentlemen,  I  would  need  the  courage  of  that 
great  writer  herself  to  finish  this  recital." 

In  this  address  M.  de  Chateaubriand  was  wrong 
in  saying  things  that  were  not  in  accord  with  the 
forgiving  spirit  so  admirably  shown  by  the  martyred 
Queen.  "Twenty-three  years,"  said  he,  "have 
passed  since  that  letter  was  written.  Those  who 
took  part  in  the   crimes  of  that  period    (those   of 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  1S16  381 

them,  at  least,  who  have  not  rendered  an  account  of 
their  deeds  before  God)  have  been  living  in  what  is 
called  prosperity ;  they  have  cultivated  their  fields 
without  molestation,  as  if  their  hands  were  guiltless. 
The  man  who  kept  the  letter  of  Marie  Antoinette 
bought  the  estate  of  Montroisier.  The  very  judge 
of  Louis  XVI.  wrote  a  panegyric  in  French  verse 
on  M.  de  Malesherbes,  and  erected  on  his  estate  a 
monument  to  the  defender  of  Louis  XVI.  Let  us 
not  admire  him;  rather  let  us  weep  for  France. 
The  inexhaustible  impartiality  which  produces  neither 
remorse  nor  expiation,  the  fact  that  crime  may 
legally  sit  in  judgment  on  virtue,  shows  that  all  is 
in  disorder  in  the  moral  world,  and  that  good  and 
evil  are  confounded  with  each  other.  But  let  us 
give  thanks  to  Providence,  whose  eyes  are  never 
withdrawn  from  the  wicked;  he  thinks  that  he 
escapes  tlu'ough  revolutions  ;  he  mounts  to  happiness 
and  power.  Generations  pass ;  the  years  roll  by 
and  all  seems  forgotten.  Suddenly  the  vengeance 
of  God  meets  the  criminal  face  to  face,  and  saj-s,  as 
it  opposes  his  way  :  '  I  am  here  ! '  In  vain  does  the 
will  of  Louis  XVI.  offer  pardon  to  the  guilty  ;  they 
are  bewildered ;  they  themselves  would  have  torn  up 
that  will ;  they  did  not  desire  that  it  should  be  pre- 
served. The  voice  of  the  people  speaks  in  the  voice 
of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies ;  sentence  is  pronounced 
and,  by  a  series  of  miracles,  the  first  result  of  that 
sentence  is  the  discovery  of  the  will  of  the  Queen." 
Marie   Antoinette's    letter    produced  a  profound 


382  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOUL&ME 

impression  on  both  Chambers,  and  it  was  decreed 
that  each  year,  on  the  16th  of  October,  which  was 
the  anniversary  of  the  execution,  it  should  be  read 
from  church  pulpits,  just  as  Louis  XVI.'s  will  should 
be  read  on  the  21st  of  January.  Every  deputy  and 
peer  received  from  Louis  XVIII.  a  fac-simile  of  his 
sister-in-law's  letter,  and  each  of  the  Chambers  sent 
a  deputation  to  the  Tuileries  to  thank  the  King. 
"I  am  much  touched,"  said  the  sovereign,  "with 
the  sentiments  you  express.  In  communicating  to 
you  the  most  moving  document  I  ever  read,  I  de- 
sired that  you  should  share  in  the  grief  and  admira- 
tion that  stirred  my  heart." 

The  deputations  were  then  presented  to  the  Duch- 
ess of  Angouleme  in  her  apartments.  M.  Laind, 
speaking  on  behalf  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  said: 
"  Madame,  the  King  has  permitted  us  to  express  to 
Your  Royal  Highness  the  sentiments  aroused  within 
us  by  the  letter  of  your  august  mother.  Those 
noble  words  reawakened  our  grief.  But  that  grief 
is  assuaged  at  the  sight  of  Your  Royal  Highness. 
We  deemed  that  Marie  Antoinette  lived  again  in 
Maria  Theresa :  hers  were  the  same  virtues,  the  same 
courage ;  and  in  seeing  how  the  religious  feelings 
of  both  Princesses  shine  brightly  forth  in  you,  our 
hearts  are  at  rest  and  open  once  more  to  hope  and 
consolation."  Chancellor  Dambray  spoke  to  the 
same  purport,  in  the  name  of  the  Chamber  of  Peers: 
"In  this  memorable  document,"  said  he,  "we  reach 
once  more  the  prolific  source   of  the  lofty  virtues, 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  IS  16  383 

the  living  image  of  which  we  are  proud  to  possess. 
That  sublime  writing  shows  us  also  the  principle 
of  that  touching  unity  that  is  to-day  the  good  for- 
tune of  your  august  family.  Madame,  may  that 
great  Queen,  who  was  preparing  our  destinies  while 
so  tenderly  thinking  of  yours,  receive  in  heaven  the 
respectful  and  admiring  homage  which  the  Chamber 
of  Peers  loves  to  pay  to  her  memory ! " 

The  Duchess  of  Angouleme  answered  briefly.  Her 
adulators  essayed  to  pretend  to  be  more  affected  than 
they  really  were,  while  she  struggled  to  conceal  her 
emotion.  Austere  and  sincere,  like  her  soul,  her 
grief  was  never  factitious  or  theatrical.  It  would 
have  seemed  profane  to  her,  had  she  expatiated  on 
it.     There  is  modesty  in  tears. 


THE  ASHES   OF   LOUIS  XVII 

THE  child,  the  king,  the  martyr,  whom  Victor 
Hugo  has  celebrated  in  an  immortal  ode,  had 
no  tomb ;  and  while  his  successor  ruled  at  the  Tuile- 
ries,  even  the  place  where  his  own  ashes  reposed  was 
unknown.  Formal  respect  had  been  paid  but  now 
to  the  memory  of  his  father  and  mother,  but  none  in 
memory  of  him.  Nevertheless,  even  in  his  hardships, 
he  had  been  the  Most  Christian  King,  the  King  of 
France  and  Navarre,  and,  though  he  had  never  been 
anointed  at  Rheims,  there  was  another  sacrament  — 
that  of  misfortune  —  which  was  his. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1816,  Chateaubriand  spoke 
as  follows  in  the  Chamber  of  Peers :  "  Gentlemen, 
I  think  we  have  omitted  something.  Among  so 
many  causes  of  grief  our  tribute  of  tears  has  not  been 
paid  impartially.  In  all  that  we  have  undertaken  to 
do  and  have  done,  the  infant  King,  the  young  mar- 
tyr who  sang  the  praises  of  God  in  the  fiery  furnace, 
has  hardly  been  mentioned.  Should  we  forget  him 
because  he  occupied  so  small  a  place  in  our  history  ? 
But  how  slowly  did  his  sufferings  cause  his  days  to 
pass,  and  how  long  was  his  reign  because  of  his  woes ! 

384 


THE  ASHES   OF  LOUIS  XVII  38o 

Did  ever  an  aged  king,  weighed  down  by  the  bur- 
dens of  a  throne,  bear  so  heavy  a  sceptre  ?  Did  ever 
the  crown  press  with  such  weight  on  the  brows  of 
Louis  XIV.  on  his  way  to  the  grave  as  did  the  dia- 
dem of  innocence  on  the  forehead  of  Louis  XVII.  on 
his  way  from  the  cradle  ?  What  has  become  of  that 
royal  pupil  left  to  the  tutelage  of  a  jailor?  of  that 
orphan  who  might  have  said,  like  the  heir  of  David : 
'  My  father  and  mother  have  forsaken  me  '  ?  Where 
is  the  brother  of  the  orphan  of  the  Temple  and  her 
comrade  in  adversity?  Where  shall  one  go  to  ask 
him  that  terrible  and  all  too  well-known  question : 
'  Capet,  dost  thou  sleep  ?  Awake  ! '  He  wakes, 
gentlemen,  in  celestial  glory,  and  he  asks  a  tomb. 
Curses  on  the  wretches  who,  this  day,  render  so  many 
reparations  necessary !  Withered  be  the  parricidal 
hand  that  dared  to  lift  itself  against  that  son  of 
Saint  Louis ;  the  King  till  now  forgotten  in  our  an- 
nals as  he  was  forgotten  in  his  prison  !  " 

The  Chambers  voted  that  a  monument  in  some 
style,  and  on  some  spot  selected  by  the  King,  should 
be  erected  in  the  name  and  at  the  expense  of  the 
nation,  in  expiation  of  the  crime  of  the  21st  of  Jan- 
uary. At  the  same  time,  the  following  article  was 
voted :  "  The  King  shall  also  be  authorized  to  order, 
in  the  name  and  at  the  expense  of  the  nation,  the 
erection  of  a  monument  in  memory  of  Louis  XVII., 
Queen  Marie  Antoinette,  and  Madame  Elisabeth." 
At  the  session  of  the  13th  of  January,  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  added  the  subjoined  words :  "  And  of  the 


386  THE  DUCHESS   OF  ANGOULEME 

Duke  of  Enghien,"  which  addition  was  adopted  by 
the  Chamber  of  Peers.  By  royal  ordinance  Louis 
XVIII.  decreed  that  the  monuments  should  stand  in 
the  Madeleine  church,  the  completion  of  which  he 
also  ordered. 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1816,  M.  Decazes,  Minister 
of  Police,  wrote  to  M.  Angles,  Prefect  of  Police :  — 

"  My  dear  Count  :  By  the  ordinance  of  the  14th 
of  February,  His  Majesty  decreed  the  place  where 
the  pious  monument  to  the  memory  of  Louis  XVII. 
is  to  be  placed.  It  is  now  necessary  —  and  I  have 
already  directed  your  attention  to  the  subject  —  to 
discover  the  remains  of  that  illustrious  victim  of  the 
Revolution.  It  is  known  that  on  the  8th  of  June, 
1795,  the  young  King  was  interred  in  the  cemetery 
of  Sainte-Marguerite,  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Antoine, 
in  the  presence  of  two  civil  commissioners  and  the 
commissioner  of  police  for  the  Section  of  the  Temple. 
The  young  King  ought  to  be  deposited  in  Saint- 
Denis.  I  request  you  to  give  me  an  account  of  the 
precise  measures  you  have  taken  to  this  end,  and 
what  has  been  the  result  of  them.  If  you  have  not 
already  done  so,  it  will  be  necessary  to  summon  the 
commissioners  and  others  who  were  present  at  the 
interment." 

The  search  was  long  and  minute,  but  resulted  in 
nothing.  A  man  of  the  name  of  Decouflet,  who  was 
beadle  of  the  parish  of  Quinze-Vingts,  said  that  in 
1802  his  friend,  the  gravedigger  Bdtrancourt,  alias 
Valentin,  while  preparing  a  grave  in  the  cemetery  of 


THE  ASUES   OF  LOUIS  XVU  387 

Sainte-Marguerite,  pointed  out  to  him  a  spot  from 
which  two  feet  of  earth  had  been  dug.  The  grave- 
digger  uncovered  a  stone  of  the  foundation-wall  of 
the  church,  on  which  was  a  cross,  and  said  that  at 
some  time  there  must  have  been  a  monument  there, 
since  the  coffin  of  Louis  XVII.  was  underneath. 
This  g'ravedigger  was  no  longer  alive  in  1816.  The 
declarations  of  his  widow  and  the  witnesses  of  the 
inhumation  were  contradictory.  According  to  some, 
a  private  burial-place  had  been  chosen  for  the  royal 
child,  while  others  said  that  his  corpse  had  been 
thrown  into  the  common  ditch.  For  the  rest,  it  was 
claimed  by  some  people  that  the  funeral  and  inter- 
ment of  Louis  XVII.  in  the  cemetery  of  Sainte- 
Marguerite  had  been  only  simulated,  and  that  his 
remains  had  been  buried  at  the  very  foot  of  the 
tower  of  the  Temple.  (In  his  unpublished  Memoirs 
General  Count  d'Andign^,  who  was  imprisoned  in  the 
Temple  in  1801,  expresses  this  opinion.)  Finally, 
several  persons  asserted  that  the  young  King's  remains 
had  been  taken  from  the  cemetery  of  Sainte-Marguerite 
to  that  of  Clamart. 

In  a  letter  written  on  the  1st  of  June,  1816,  the 
Prefect  of  Police  gave  M.  Decazes  an  account  of  the 
outcome  of  the  search.  The  letter  ends  as  follows  : 
"  The  commissioners  who  had  charge  of  the  inquest 
incline  to  believe  that  if  the  precious  remains  of  the 
young  King  are  lost  among  those  of  the  other  dead, 
they  lie  in  the  place  designated  by  the  widow  of 
Bdtrancourt,  alias  Valentin,  and  by  Decouffet." 


388  THE  DUCriESS   OF  ANCOULtME 

No  excavations  were  made  in  the  cemetery.  Tha 
day  was  spent  in  explorations.  The  clergy  of  the 
church  of  Sainte-Marguerite,  in  alb  and  surplice,  were 
waiting  for  the  delegate  of  the  Minister  of  Police, 
when,  after  some  hours  of  delay,  the  curd  received 
an  official  letter  announcing  that  the  search  must 
be  abandoned.  In  liis  book  on  Louis  XVII.,  M.  de 
Chantelauze  thus  explains  this  sudden  change  :  "  An 
opposition,  as  malevolent  as  it  was  implacable,  had 
already  taken  it  in  hand  to  cast  doubts  on  the  au- 
thenticity of  the  remains  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie 
Antoinette.  And  not  only  did  this  opposition  try  to 
cast  ridicule  on  the  royal  exhumations  by  pretending 
that  only  false  relics  had  been  discovered,  but  it 
blamed  Louis  XVIII.  in  most  violent  terms  for  evok- 
ing, with  odious  ostentation,  the  bloody  spectres  of 
his  family.  This  time  the  opposition  struck  a  telling 
blow.  It  was  the  dread  of  imprudently  reawakening 
the  most  cruel  recollections  of  the  Terror,  rather  than 
any  of  these  undefined  rumors,  that  prevented  Louis 
XVIII.,  who  was  at  once  moderate,  politic,  and  saga- 
cious, from  following  up  the  search  ordered  for  the 
discovery  of  the  grave  of  his  royal  nephew." 

The  supposition  of  M.  de  Chantelauze  does  not 
seem  to  us  quite  admissible.  However  that  may  be, 
the  people  who  asserted  that  Louis  XVII.  left  the 
Temple  alive,  did  not  hesitate  to  say  that  if  the 
excavations  were  not  continued,  it  was  because 
the  son  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  was 
still  living.     Another  circumstance  seemed  to  give 


THE  ASHES   OF  LOUIS  XVII  389 

color  to  their  belief  in  the  tale  of  the  various  imper- 
sonators of  Louis  XVII.  Though  he  gave  up  the 
excavations  ordered  by  him  for  the  discovery  of  the 
remains  of  Louis  XVII.,  Louis  XVIII.  was  desirous 
of  having  a  formal  service  celebrated  at  the  church 
of  Saint-Denis  in  memory  of  the  young  King.  Louis 
XVIII.  then  learned  from  the  primate  of  the  abbey 
of  Saint-Denis  that  the  ancient  rules  of  the  abbey 
permitted  funeral  services  to  be  celebrated  only  for 
princes  whose  bodies  reposed  in  its  vaults.  Accord- 
ing to  M.  de  Chantelauze,  this  was  why  he  did  not 
deem  it  proper  to  proceed. 

We  have  already  explained  the  reasons  which  lead 
us  to  believe  that  the  child  who  died  in  the  Temple 
was  really  Louis  XVII.,  and  on  this  point  we  agree 
with  the  conclusions  drawn  by  MM.  de  Beauchesne 
and  de  Chantelauze,  and  several  times  confirmed  by 
judicial  decisions.  We  shall  always  hold  that  by 
forbidding  the  excavations  it  once  had  ordered,  and 
in  not  having  funeral  services  for  the  young  King 
celebrated  at  Saint-Denis  or  elsewhere,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Restoration  increased  the  doubts  that 
were  entertained  by  certain  people.  It  was  asked 
why  a  government  founded  on  the  principle  of  hered- 
ity should  concern  itself  so  little  about  Louis  XVIII.'s 
immediate  predecessor. 

M.  de  Beauchesne  himself  makes  some  melancholy 
reflections  on  this  subject,  in  the  place  that  was  once 
the  cemetery  of  Sainte-Marguerite,  for  the  cemeteries 
crumble  away  like  ruins,  etiam  periere  ruince.     He 


390  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULJtUE 

says :  "  Nothing  saddens  the  heart  more  than  the 
appearance  of  a  forsaken  cemetery.  Alas  !  Scarcely 
in  the  midst  of  the  tumults  that  surround  us  do  we 
think  of  those  who  fall  at  our  side.  It  is  wdth 
stronger  reason  that  w^e  trample  with  indifference  on 
those  who  have  fallen  before  us.  It  is  not  fifty  years 
since  this  cemetery  was  closed  to  the  dead,  and  now 
the  living  do  not  know  the  road  to  it.  Worldly 
pleasures  cover  regrets  as  sods  cover  graves.  No 
longer  is  there  any  trace  of  human  foot  on  this  grass, 
no  longer  a  little  path  leading  to  a  beloved  tomb.  A 
few  trees  have  remained  because  they  were  young, 
and  because  their  owners  would  not  have  profited 
greatly  by  hewing  them  down.  Down  there  in  the 
corner  generations  after  generations  of  corpses  have 
succeeded  each  other,  for  in  this  narrow  world  one 
disputes  possession  even  when  life  is  over,  and  the 
dead  is  driven  off  to  make  room  for  the  dead.  How 
many  times  within  this  funereal  enclosure,  among 
crumbling  tombs  and  neglected  shrubbery,  and  long 
since  covered  with  nettles  and  briers,  have  I  asked 
that  terrible  and  all  too  well  known  question : 
'  Capet,  where  art  thou  ?     Awake  ! ' " 

The  young  King's  biographer  adds  with  bitterness 
the  following  words  :  "  It  seems  that  in  Fiance  there 
has  been  an  unanimity  of  forgetfulness  in  regard  to 
this  cemetery.  And  yet  it  was  here  that  the  royalty 
of  thirteen  centuries,  begun  at  Rheiras,  finished  its 
career.  'Tis  here  that  the  youngest  of  your  race 
returned  to  dust  while   your  own  dust  was  swept 


THE  ASHES   OF  LOUIS  XVII  391 

from  out  your  tombs.  But,  vacant  or  occupied, 
your  tombs  still  show  the  way  you  went,  and  one 
may  read  your  actions  in  history  or  visit  the  simula- 
crum of  your  coffins  in  Saint-Denis.  Nothing  re- 
mains of  that  child,  and  dead,  he  has  no  stone." 
And  in  conclusion  M.  de  Beauchesne  expresses  the 
regret  that  the  sainted  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.,  as 
faithful  to  misfortune  as  misfortune  was  faithful  to 
her,  was  unable  to  bring  a  prayer  or  a  tear  to  the 
spot  of  earth  that  had  consumed  her  brother,  because 
there  was  no  trustworthy  information  as  to  where  he 
lay. 

Who  shall  say  that  at  times  the  Duchess  of  Angou- 
leme  was  not  tempted  to  exclaim :  "  But  if  I  have 
been  deceived?  ...  If  my  brother  be  yet  alive?" 
Beyond  doubt,  this  thought  did  not  remain  fixed  in 
the  mind  of  the  unhappy  Princess,  but  who  shall  say 
that  it  never  crossed  it  as  a  vague  and  qruel  suspicion  ? 


CONCLUSION 

THE  Restoration  had  now  been  in  existence  for 
two  years,  and  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme  saw 
that  under  the  gilded  ceilings  of  palaces  as  in  the 
dungeon  of  the  Temple,  she  was  condemned  to  a  life 
of  sorrow  and  disappointment.  At  the  beginning  of 
1816  she  was  still  looked  up  to  and  received  the  hom- 
age of  all.  At  the  fete  given  on  the  5th  of  February 
by  the  royal  guards  to  the  national  guard  of  Paris 
she  shared  with  the  King  in  the  enthusiastic  demon- 
strations of  the  assemblage.  In  the  midst  of  ap- 
plause she  made  the  tour  of  the  twelve  tables  that 
were  decorated  with  escutcheons  bearing  the  names 
of  Saint  Louis,  Francis  I.,  Henri  IV.,  Louis  XIV., 
Renaud,  Roland,  Duguesclin,  Bayard,  Sully,  Crillon, 
Cond^,  and  Turenne.  A  marshal  of  France  or  a 
lieutenant-general  presided  at  each  of  the  tables. 
Fifteen  hundred  persons  attended  the  fete,  five  hun- 
dred of  whom  were  elegantly  dressed  women,  who 
added  greatly  to  the  splendor  of  the  scene.  A  can- 
tata was  sung,  the  words  of  which  were  by  Chevalier 
Ducis,  a  captain  of  hussars  in  the  royal  guards,  and 
nephew  of  the  celebrated  poet ;  the  music  was  com- 
posed by  Cherubini. 
892 


coNCLUSioy  393 


At  the  fSte  given  to  the  royal  guards  by  the 
national  guard  of  Paris  in  the  hall  of  the  Odeon, 
the  pious  Princess  was  equally  the  object  of  general 
enthusiasm.  The  box  of  the  royal  family,  which 
was  at  the  centre  of  the  first  tier  in  the  gallery,  was 
decorated  with  great  magnificence.  The  play  was  an 
impromptu  called  Chacun  d  son  tour,  ou  Vecho  de 
Paris.  In  speaking  of  the  verses,  the  Moniteur 
said :  "  It  is  impossible  by  quoting  the  couplets  to 
give  any  idea  of  what  took  place ;  their  happy  turn, 
the  choiceness  of  the  melody,  the  chorus  that  accom- 
panied them  and  was  loudly  repeated  by  the  audience 
amid  waving  plumes,  the  King  profoundly  moved, 
his  family  rising  in  response  to  such  touching 
applause,  and  to  devotion  so  spontaneous,  free,  and 
unanimous,  —  one  must  have  seen  all  this,  for  it  can- 
not be  expressed  in  words." 

Whenever  the  Dachess  of  Angouleme  appeared  at 
the  theatre,  she  was  received  with  applause.  On  the 
30th  of  January  she  attended  a  gala  representation  at 
the  Opera.  A  cantata  was  sung,  in  which  the  follow- 
ing lines  were  enthusiastically  cheered  :  — 

"  Daughter  of  kings,  no  longer  fear  ; 
See  naught  but  happiness  before  thee ; 
The  French  will  wipe  away  each  tear 
They  caused  to  flow,  and  will  watch  o'er  thee." 

These  fetes  and  adulations  had  no  fascination  for 
the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  The  pomps  that  sur- 
rounded her  gave  her  no  pleasure.     It  was  not  after 


394  TUE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

coming  from  the  church  of  Saint-Denis,  it  was  not  on 
the  morrow  of  the  anniversary  of  the  murder  of  her 
father,  that  she  could  find  amusement  in  a  theatrical 
representation  or  a  reception  at  court.  She  knew 
too  well  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune  to  be  dazzled  by 
artificial  prestige  or  be  deceived  by  wealth  and 
human  grandeur.  After  the  calamities  of  her  family 
she  felt  out  of  place  at  a  ball  or  a  play.  Her  appear- 
ance could  evoke  only  memories  and  arouse  reflec- 
tions which  were  out  of  harmony  with  earthly  joys. 
A  chSrteau  inhabited  by  her  would  have  resembled 
a  church  rather  than  a  palace.  Even  in  moments  of 
triumph  everything  contributed  to  her  sadness.  At 
the  Tuileries,  even  on  fete  days,  under  brilliant  chan- 
deliei's  and  amid  music,  she  recalled  the  terrible 
scenes  of  the  20th  of  June  and  the  10th  of  August, 
which  her  uncle,  Louis  XVIII.,  had  not  witnessed, 
but  at  which  she  had  been  present.  Sometimes  she 
fancied  she  saw  phantoms  flitting  through,  that  fatal 
place.  Nothing  could  distract  her  from  her  sombre 
thoughts  and  Christian  meditations ;  the  Tuileries 
could  not  make  her  forget  the  Temple,  which  had 
been  destroyed  from  top  to  bottom  and  of  which  not 
one  stone  remained.  She  could  have  wished  to  shut 
herself  up  in  the  little  room  which  had  served  her 
father  as  an  oratory,  and  to  revisit  the  chamber  that 
had  been  occupied,  first  by  her  mother  and  next  by 
her  aunt.  But  no ;  nothing  remained,  —  nothing  but 
the  dolorous  and  eternal  memory  of  it. 

The  Duchess  of  Angouleme  was  not  the  dupe  of 


CONCLUSION  395 


flatterers.  They  recalled  the  adulations  given  to  her 
mother.  She  was  vastly  edified  by  the  way  in  which 
the  courtiers  had  gone  from  one  party  to  the  other. 
When  officers  vowed  fidelity  equal  to  eveiy  proof, 
she  remembered  the  defection  of  the  Bordeaux  garri- 
son during  the  Hundred  Days.  That  brief  but 
instructive  period  had  made  her  reflect  bitterly  on 
the  fickleness  of  the  French  character.  She  already 
saw  afar  off  the  coming  of  a  new  revolution.  The 
conduct  of  the  government  did  not  satisfy  her. 
Louis  XVIII.  had  placed  power  in  hands  that  she 
thought  neither  sure  nor  faithful.  She  saw  that  the 
policy  of  the  ministry  was  one  of  expedients  and  not 
of  principles,  and,  had  she  been  allowed  to  speak,  she 
would  certainly  have  opposed  both  its  tendencies  and 
its  acts.  But  she  made  no  endeavor  to  cause  her 
ideas  to  prevail  and,  living  in  a  world  of  contempla- 
tion, she  made  a  hermit's  cell  of  her  oratory.  In 
1816,  though  young  in  years,  she  was  old  in  sorrow. 
One  wondered  that  so  many  emotions  and  griefs  had 
not  yet  whitened  her  hair. 

A  woman  grave  and  austere,  like  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme,  must  always  inspire  more  veneration 
than  sympathy  in  a  society  amiable,  but  frivolous, 
like  that  of  Paris.  While  respecting  and  holding  her 
in  the  highest  honor,  the  world  was  only  moderately 
concerned  about  the  pious  Princess.  The  curiosity 
that  she  aroused  on  her  return  to  France  was  already 
dying  away.  A  younger  woman,  gayer  and  more 
fond  of  pleasure,  was  desired,  in  order  to  bring  relief 


896  THE  DUCHESS  OF  ANGOULEME 

to  a  court  that  was  looked  upon  as  too  sombre  and 
morose.  That  woman  was  the  sprightly  Princess 
who  was  to  marry  the  Duke  of  Berry.  She  was 
said  to  be  full  of  spirit  and  grace,  and  it  was  regarded 
as  certain  that  her  smile  would  illumine  the  Tuile- 
ries  like  a  ray  of  light.  The  Duchess  of  Angouleme 
was  about  to  be  left  in  an  obscurity  which,  for  that 
matter,  suited  her  modesty  and  piety.  Henceforth, 
the  Duchess  of  Berry  would  take  the  first  place. 
Merchants  and  artists  knew  her  as  a  patron  of  arts 
and  commerce.  Wonderful  things  were  said  about 
her  disposition,  half  French  and  half  Neapolitan. 
She  would  bring  to  Paris  the  impulsiveness  and 
vivacity  of  lands  where  the  sun  shines.  After  the 
Terror,  society  had  an  inextinguishable  thii-st  for 
distractions  and  amusements,  and  similarly,  in  1816, 
people  wished  to  forget  the  misfortunes  of  war  and 
invasion,  and  to  make  merry,  now  that  its  distress 
had  departed.  The  Duchess  of  Angouleme  was  but 
the  setting  sun.  The  rising  sun  was  the  Duchess 
of  Berry,  and  already  the  eyes  of  all  were  turned 
towards  her. 


INDEX 


Abrant^s,  Duchess  of,  her  story 
of  the  ^mif/res  at  Tortoni's,  75; 
on  the  character  of  Louis  XVIII., 
85;  on  the  Duke  of  Berry,  104; 
quoted.  111,  112. 

Ade'laide,  Princess,  described  by 
the  Baroness  of  Oberkirch,  149. 

Alexander  I.  at  Compiegne,  20;  at 
Paris,  44:  his  seTitiments  for 
Louis  XVIII.,  40;  takes  leave  of 
the  King  and  quits  Paris,  48 ;  his 
partiality  for  Prince  de  Beauhar- 
nais,  4(5;  conversation  with  him  re- 
specting tlie  Bourbons,  49;  causes 
religious  service  to  be  held  iu 
the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  50. 

AngouK'me,  Duchess  of,  a  woman 
of  the  Tuileries,  1 ;  return  of,  to 
France,  2  et  seq. ;  at  Compiegne, 
7;  her  appearance  described,  13; 
entry  of,  with  the  King  into  Paris, 
32  et  seq. ;  her  agitation,  37;  ap- 
pearance of,  at  the  Tuileries,  47 ; 
called  Madame  during  the  reign 
of  Louis  XVllI.,  108;  change  in 
her  after  the  Restoration,  109; 
at  the  opera  of  (Edipe  a  Colone, 
110;  called  the  New  Antigone, 
110;  her  melancholy,  112;  her 
dislike  of  Talleyrand,  115;  the 
members  of  her  household,  115 
et  seq. ;  her  character  and  bear- 
ing described,  116  et  seq. ;  the 
interest  of  the  people  in,  118 ;  at 
Vichy,  119  et  seq. ;  at  Lyons,  121 
et  seq. ;  her  virile  character,  127 ; 
her  visit  to  Versailles,  132 ;  pres- 
ent at  the  fete  of  the  Hotel  de 
Ville,  154 ;  at  the  The'atre  Fran- 
9ais,  180;  at  the  hospitals,  182; 


at  Bordeaux,  185 ;  hears  of  the 
landing  of  Napoleon,  187;  or- 
dered by  the  King  to  remain  at 
Bordeaux,  224;  receives  Baron 
de  Vitrolles  with  the  King's  let- 
ter, 225;  sends  a  letter  to  the 
French  ambassador  at  Madrid, 
227;  letter  of,  to  Count  de  La 
Chatre,  228  et  seq. ;  likeness  of 
her  character  to  that  of  Maria 
Theresa,  231 ;  calls  a  general 
counsel,  237 ;  visits  the  troops  in 
their  barracks,  238;  commands 
them  to  resist  no  longer,  242; 
leaves  the  city,  244;  proclama- 
tion of,  245;  embarks  on  the 
Wanderer,  24<j;  is  offered  an 
asylum  by  the  King  of  Spain, 
24() ;  enters  London,  247 ;  guest 
of  the  Count  de  La  Chatre,  248; 
actively  engaged  in  politics,  251 ; 
the  objects  of  her  mission  to 
England,  252;  joins  the  King  at 
Ghent,  253  et  ,seq. ;  returns  to 
England,  2(50;  her  return  to 
France,  275 ;  without  illusions, 
270;  goes  with  her  husband  to 
Bordeaux,  279;  her  journey  a 
continuous  ovation,  296;  recep- 
tion of,  at  Toulouse,  297;  talks 
of  Fouche's  dismissal,  298;  de- 
clines to  receive  Fouche,  303; 
comes  to  regret  the  execution  of 
Ney,  337;  furiously  repulses 
Madame  de  Lavalette,  349 ;  depu- 
tations from  the  Chambers  pre- 
sented to,  382. 
Angouleme,  Duke  of,  at  the  Resto- 
ration, 99  et  seq. ;  not  a  success 
at  court,  101;  devoted  to  the 
897 


398 


INDEX 


King,  102 ;  sent  by  the  King  to  | 
visit  the  West  of   France,  105;  1 
hears  of  tlie  landing  of  Napo- 
leon, and  is  ordered  to   go   to  | 
Nimes,  187 ;  his  first  successes,  | 
248;  arreste<i  by  Grouchy,  249; 
set  at  liberty,  proceeds  to  Mad- 
rid, 249 ;  rumors  concerning,  277. 

"Antigone,  the  New,"  110. 

Artois,  Count  of,  a  man  of  the  old 
regime,  93;  an  optimist  and 
under  illusions,  95;  his  house- 
hold, 97;  sent  by  the  King  to 
visit  the  East  of  France,  105; 
sent  by  the  King  to  Lyons  to 
arrest  Napoleon's  progress,  190; 
swears  allegiance  to  the  King, 
205. 

Augereau,  Marshal,  meets  the 
Duchess  of  Angouleme  at  Lyons, 
122,  125. 

iumale,  Duke  of,  heir  of  the  Duke 
of  Bourbon,  14(j. 

Baudus,  M.,  conceals  M.  de  Lava- 
lette,  359. 

Beauchesne,  M.  de,  quoted,  390. 

Beauharnais,  Prince  Eugene  de, 
the  Czar's  partiality  for,  46,  48. 

Beauharnais,  Emilie  de,  her  family, 
339 ;  her  first  meeting  with  La  va- 
let te,  341. 

Bellart,  M.,  address  of,  as  public 
prosecutor  of  Marshal  Ney,  320. 

Beruadotte  at  Compiegne,  18. 

Berry,  Duke  of,  99  et  seq.;  his 
character,  102  et  seq. ;  sent  by  the 
King  to  visit  the  North  of  France, 
105;  his  lack  of  tact,  106;  his 
noble  qualities  and  his  death, 
107;  receives  in  the  Tuileries, 
180, 181. 

Berthier,  Marshal,  meets  Louis 
XVni.,  8;  address  of,  to  Louis 
XVIII.,  13. 

Beugnot,  Count,  quoted,  22,  209; 
his  inscription  on  the  statue  of 
Henry  IV.,  25,  39;  Memoirs  of, 
quoted,  262 ;  on  th^  selection  of 


Fouch^as  Louis  XVIIL'b  Minis- 
ter of  Police,  201. 

Blacas,  Count  of,  24 ;  letter  of,  to 
Prince  of  Castelcicala,  251. 

Bordeaux,  reception  of  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Angouleme  in, 
186  et  seq.,  279;  defection  of  the 
troops  at,  238. 

Boulogne,  Abbe  de,  sermon  of,  at 
the  burial  of  Louis  XVL  at  Saint 
Denis,  174,  177. 

Bourbon,  Duke  of,  a  representa- 
tive of  the  old  regime,  141 ;  his 
career,  146. 

Bourbon,  Duchess  of,  her  career, 
146 ;  receives  a  pension  from  Na- 
poleon, 148. 

Bourrienne,  on  the  King's  entry 
into  Paris,  39. 

Bourmont,  Marshal,  a  witness 
against  Marshal  Ney,  315,  317 
et  seq. 

Brayer,  General,  despatch  of,  con- 
cerning Napoleon's  landing,  189. 

Bresson,  Madame,  conceals  Lavar 
lette  in  her  house,  359  et  seq. 

Bresson,  M.,  362. 

Broglie,  Duke  of,  on  the  state  of 
things  in  Paris  after  the  landing 
of  Napoleon,  200,  201;  on  the 
departure  of  the  King,  220;  on 
Fouche  and  Talleyrand,  2f)5;  his 
vote  for  Marshal  Key's  acquittal, 
323 ;  on  the  escape  of  Lavalette, 
364. 

Camot,  quoted,  61. 

Castelcicala,  Prince  of,  correspon- 
dence of,  with  the  Count  of  Bla- 
cas, 251. 

Cauchy,  M.,  reads  the  death-waiv 
rant  to  Marshal  Ney,  325. 

Censeur,  the,  quoted,  159. 

Chabrol,  M.  de,  presents  Louis 
XVIII.  with  the  keys  of  Paris, 
32 ;  address  of,  at  the  fete  of  the 
Hotel  de  Ville,  157. 

Chantelauze,  M.  de,  on  the  opposi- 
tion to  the  royal  exliumations,  388- 


INDEX 


399 


Chateaubriand,  on  the  Duchess  of 
Angoulenie,  4;  quoted,  5;  de- 
scribes Louis  XVIII. 's  arrival  at 
Compiegne,  9,  11,  13;  quoted, 
28,  3<);  his  admiration  for  Louis 
XVIII.,  42,  44,  50;  on  society  at 
the  court  of  Louis  XVIII.,  54 ;  on 
his  character,  81,  8(5;  his  confi- 
dence in  the  royalist  cause,  1G4; 
speech  of,  on  the  burial  of  Louis 
XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  at 
Saint  Denis,  1(W,  171,  175;  thinks 
Napoleou  is  to  be  "harried,"  191; 
agrees  with  Marmont  about  bar- 
ricading Paris,  20;^,  211;  on  the 
Duchess  of  Angouleme  at  Bor- 
deaux, 254,  257,  258,  263,  264 ;  on 
Fouche',  .301  et  neq. ;  recalls,  in 
the  Chamber  of  Peers,  the  events 
of  1815,  373;  address  of,  upon 
the  letter  of  Marie  Antoinette, 
380;  tribute  of,  to  Louis  XVII., 
384 

Clausel,  General,  approaches  Bor- 
deaux, 228,  235;  carried  away 
by  the  prestige  of  Napoleon,  234 
et  seq. ;  demands  that  the  gates 
of  Bordeaux  be  opened,  237 ;  pays 
a  tribute  to  the  courage  of  the 
Duchess  of  Angouleme,  242. 

Compiegne,  the  Chateau  of,  7; 
Louis  XVIII.  at,  8  et  seq. ;  the 
court  reconstituted  at,  18. 

Conde,  Prince  of,  a  representative 
of  tlie  old  regime,  141;  his  career, 
142  et  seq.;  anecdotes  of  him, 
144. 

Constant,  Benjamin,  quoted,  31, 
200;  signed  article  of,  in  the 
D4bats,2li. 

Court  of  Louis  XVIII.,  the,  51  et 
seq. ;  functionaries  of,  55. 

Cretineau-Joly,  M.,  quoted,  105. 

Cuvillier-Fleury,  quoted,  367. 

Davoust,  Marslial,  testifies  concern- 
ing the  amnesty  accorded  by  the 
plenipotentiaries,  319. 

Decaen,  General,  at  Bordeaux,  226 ; 


I      his  perplexities,  233;  the  crowd 
I      clamor  for  his  life,  243. 
Delpierre,  Abbe,  confesses  Marshal 
Ney,  328;    accompanies  him  to 
his  execution,  330;  letter  describ- 
ing his  interview  with  Madame 
Ney  after  the  execution,  332. 
Descloseaux,  preserves  the  memory 
of    the  burying-place    of    Louis 
XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette,  1G7. 
Domon,  General,  194. 
!  Dupont,  General,  bestows  military 
decorations,  59. 

! 

i  Elisabeth,  Madame,  her  character 

reflected  in  that  of  the  Duchess 

j      of  Angouleme,  114. 

^miyres,  their  confidenca  in  the 

restitution  of  their  property,  183. 

Enghien,  Duke  of,  his  birth  and 

1      parentage,    146  et  seq. ;   monu- 

I      ment  to,  386. 

"  Father  Violet,"  nickname  of  Na- 
poleon, 185. 

Fievee,  M.,  quoted,  118. 

Fouche,  swears  loyalty  to  Louis 
XVIII.  at  Saint  Denis,  2()5;  the 
King  talks  of  his  dismissal,  298; 
his  selection  as  Minister  of  Po- 
lice urged  by  the  n)yalists,  200; 
his  fall,  303;  marries  Mademoi- 
selle de  Cast«llanc,  303;  dis- 
missed, 304;  made  French  Min- 
ister at  Dresden,  301;  letter  of, 
to  I^uis  XVIII.,  304;  to  the  Duke 
of  Richelieu,  305  et  seq. ;  stricken 
down  by  the  law  against  regi- 
cides, .308. 

Francis  II.  takes  leave  of  the  King, 
48. 

Ghent,  I^uis  XVIII.  at,  255  et  seq. 

Gouvion,  M.,  anecdote  of,  324. 

Guizot,  on  Louis  XVIII.,  88;  on 
the  court  of  Louis  XVIII.  at 
Ghent,  256;  on  the  affair  of 
Louis  XVIII.  and  Fouche,  299; 
quoted,  310,  333  et  seq. 


400 


INDEX 


Havr€,  Duke  of,  54. 

Hortense,  Queen,  receives  from 
Louis  XVIII.  the  title  of  the 
Duchess  of  Saint-Leu,  148;  her 
salon  the  Bonapartist  hothed, 
184. 

Hotel  de  Ville,  fete  of  the,  154  et 
seq. ;  list  of  ladies  at,  155. 

Jacob,  the  bibliophile,  on  the  Bar- 
oness de  Krudener,  285. 

Josephine,  death  of,  47. 

Journal  den  D^hatn  on  the  death 
of  Josephine,  48  ;  quoted,  151, 
179,  192,  194,  198,  206,  212,  213; 
becomes  Journal  de  I'Empire, 
221 ;  describes  the  entrance  of 
Napoleon  into  Paris,  222;  lan- 
guage of,  at  the  Second  Resto- 
ration, 271,  275;  report  in,  of 
Marshal  Ney's  execution,  3.35. 

Jouy,  M.  de,  70,  73. 

Krudener,  Baroness  de,  interests 
herself  in  General  de  Labedoyere, 
284;  her  character  and  career, 
284  et  seq.;  first  meeting  with 
Labedoyere,  285;  letter  of,  to 
Madame  de  Labedoyere,  286; 
visits  Labedoyere  in  prison,  288; 
her  reflections  on  his  death,  295. 

Labedoyere,  General  de,  the  era 
of  vengeance  inaugurated  l)y  the 
execution  of,  278,  281  et  seq.; 
arrest  of,  283;  his  family,  283; 
the  Baroness  de  Krudener  inter- 
ests herself  in,  284;  before  the 
council  of  war,  289 ;  his  defence, 
290 ;  condemnation  of,  291 ;  let- 
ter of,  to  his  mother,  292;  his 
will,  293. 

Labedoyere,  Madame  de,  intercedes 
for  her  husband,  286 ;  is  repulsed 
by  the  King,  294. 

La  Chfttre,  Count  de,  letter  of  the 
Duchess  of  Angouleme  to,  228; 
Duchess  of  Angouleme  the  guest 
of,  in  London,  248,  250. 


Lafayette,  M.  de,  conversation  of, 
with  Alexander  I.,  49. 

Lamartine  on  the  personal  appear- 
ance of  Ivouis  XVIIL,  76;  an 
enthusiastic  royalist,  77,  95;  on 
the  Count  of  Artois,  98;  on  the 
attitude  of  the  great  ladies  dur- 
ing Marshal  Ney's  trial,  321; 
describes  Ney's  guards,  327 ;  cen- 
sures the  murder  of  Marshal  Ney, 
a34. 

Lavalette,  Count  de,  338  et  seq.; 
his  marriage  to  Emilie  de  Beau- 
harnais,  339;  his  career  under 
Napoleon,  342 ;  arrest  of,  344; 
sentenced ,  347 ;  plan  of  his  escape, 
353 e<  seq. ;  escape  of,  357  et  seq. ; 
his  hiding-place,  359;  remains 
hidden  with  the  Bressons,  366; 
escapes  to  Belgium,  3<i7;  quota- 
tion from  his  Memoirs,  368;  his 
daughter,  369. 

Lavalette,  Madame  de,  importunes 
the  King  for  her  husband's  par- 
don and  is  refused,  349;  proposes 
to  her  husband  to  escape  in  her 
clothes,  353;  loses  her  reason, 
366,368. 

Lavalette,  Josephine  de,  her  trials 
at  school,  369;  death  of,  as  the 
Baroness  de  Forget,  371. 

Legitimists,  jealousy  of,  the,  62. 

Lettres  du  Cousin  et  de  la  Couxine, 
70. 

Louis  XVI. ,  body  of,  exhumed  and 
buried  at  Saint  Denis,  168  et  seq. ; 
monument  erected  to,  170;  final 
funeral  solemnities  of,  celebrated, 
376. 

Louis  XVII.,  monument  of,  385; 
search  for  his  grave,  .386. 

Louis  XVIIL,  return  of,  to  France, 

2  et  seq. ;  his  progress  to  Paris, 

3  et  seq. ;  remarks  of,  at  Com- 
piJigne,  7  et  seq. ;  his  reply  to 
Marshal  Berthier,  14;  his  polite- 
ness to  the  officers  of  the  army, 
16;  receives  Talleyrand,  20;  in- 
terview of,  with  Alexander  I., 


INDEX 


401 


20;  entry  of,  into  Paris,  32  et 
seq.;  at  Notre-Dame,  34;  at  the 
Tuileries,  38,  51;  his  court,  52; 
his  household,  55 ;  and  the  peti- 
tions of  old  royalists,  70;  liis  part 
in  Lettres  du  Cousin  et  de  la 
Cousine,  70 ;  his  personal  appear- 
ance as  described  by  Lamartine 
and  others,  76  et  seq. ;  his  char- 
acter and  intelligence,  80  et  seq. ; 
his  belief  in  royalty,  87 ;  founded 
the  throne  on  moderate  princi- 
ples, 89 ;  his  life  at  the  Tuileries, 
91 ;  his  exercise,  92 ;  at  the  fete 
of  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  156  et  seq.  ; 
attends  the  ceremony  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  flags,  161  et  seq. ; 
attends  the  opera  and  theatre, 
179  et  seq. ;  receives  the  news  of 
Napoleon's  landing,  189;  sends 
the  Count  of  Artois  to  Lyons, 
190 ;  cheered  by  the  National 
Guard,  193;  calls  a  session  of  the 
Chambers,  and  proclaims  Bona- 
parte a  rebel,  191;  proclamation 
of,  197 ;  his  speech  to  the  Cham- 
bers, 202  et  seq. ;  declares  his  in- 
tention to  remain  at  the  Tuil- 
eries, 210 ;  but  refuses  to  turn  it 
into  a  fortress,  211 ;  reviews  his 
military  household,  215;  leaves 
Paris,  219  et  seq. ;  summons  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  to  Ghent,  252  ; 
his  residence  and  habits  at  Ghent, 
255  et  seq. ;  his  phantom  minis- 
try there,  256;  returns  to  France, 
264;  at  Saint  Denis,  265;  enters 
Paris,  266;  his  escort,  267;  ill  at 
ease,  269, 272  ;  his  clemency,  273 ; 
refuses  to  pardon  Labedoyere, 
294;  letter  to,  from  Fouche,  de- 
nouncing the  Duke  and  Duchess 
of  Angouleme,  304;  refuses  to 
pardon  Lavalette,  349;  address 
to,  by  the  Chambers,  Jan.  21, 
1816,  377 ;  sends  to  the  Chambers 
the  letter  of  Marie  Antoinette, 
379 ;  deputations  from  the  Cham- 
bers to,  382. 


Louise,  Marie,  tlie  Archduchess,  at 
Aix-les-Bains,  126. 

Maison,  General,  in  command  of 
French  troops  at  Ghent,  258. 

Malouet  and  the  story  of  the  old 
naval  officer,  69. 

Marie  Antoinette,  body  of,  ex- 
humed and  buried  at  Saint  Denis, 
168  et  seq.,  376 ;  monument  erected 
to,  170,  386 ;  discovery  of  a  letter 
of,  written  on  the  day  of  her 
execution  to  Madame  Elisabeth, 
377. 

Marmont,  Marshal,  meets  Louis 
XVIII.  at  Compiegue,  10,  16; 
describes  Louis  XVIII. 's  Bour- 
bon pride,  42 ;  criticises  the  mili- 
tary household  of  the  King,  57 ; 
his  description  of  Louis  XVIII., 
78,  84;  compares  the  Dukes  of 
Berry  and  Angouleme,  104;  on 
the  infirmities  of  Louis  XVIII., 
109 ;  proposes  to  the  King  to  put 
the  Tuileries  and  the  Louvre  in 
a  state  of  defence,  208  ;  allows 
Madame  de  Lavalette  to  go  to 
the  Tuileries,  347,  351 ;  Memoirs 
of,  quoted,  349;  on  the  violent 
passions  of  the  court  ladies,  352. 

Martignac,  M.  de,  sent  from  Bor- 
deaux to  confer  with  General 
Clausel,  236;  asks  for  a  further 
delay,  237. 

Metternich,  Prince,  quoted,  88. 

Moncey,  Marshal,  meets  Louis 
XVIII.  with  congratulations,  5; 
refuses  to  take  part  in  the  coun- 
cil of  war  to  try  Marshal  Ney, 
312. 

Monsieur,  see  Count  of  Artois. 

Moniteur,  the,  describes  the  parade 
of  the  allied  troops,  41;  quoted, 
100 ;  on  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme 
at  Vichy,  119  et  seq.;  quoted, 
163;  respecting  the  burial  of 
Louis  XVI.  at  Saint  Denis,  175 ; 
gives  first  news  of  Napoleon's 
landiug   to   the  Parisians,  190; 


402 


INDEX 


quoted,  197,  205,  216  ;  Sauvo,  ed- 
itor of,  268;  on  the  movements 
of  the  allied  sovereigns,  270. 

Moreau,  Madame,  at  Paris  after 
the  Restoration,  66. 

Mortier,  Marshal,  cannot  condemn 
Marshal  Ney,  312. 

Nain  Jaune,  the,  182;  ou  Napo- 
leon's return,  197. 

Napoleon  at  Elba,  40. 

Napoleon,  lands  at  Elba,  40 ;  on  a 
free  press,  88 ;  calls  the  Duchess 
of  Angouleme  "  the  only  man  in 
her  family,"  127 ;  pensions  the 
mother  of  the  Duke  of  Enghieu, 
148;  first  news  of  his  landing, 
185,  189 ;  enters  Paris,  221. 

Napoleon's  Marshals,  sentiments 
of,  under  the  Restoration,  60. 

Nettement,  M.  Alfred,  quoted,  176. 

Ney,  meets  Louis  XVIII.  at  Com- 
piegne,  10;  compares  him  with 
Napoleon,  11 ;  expected  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  Napoleon,  197; 
goes  over  to  Naix)leon,  207 ;  should 
have  been  pardoned  by  the  King, 
in  M.  Guizot's  opinion,  310 ;  with- 
draws from  Paris,  311 ;  arrest  of, 
311 ;  ferocity  of  the  great  ladies 
against,  313;  his  fury  of  indig- 
nation against  Marshal  Bour- 
mont,  316;  counted  ou  the  pro- 
tective nature  of  the  capitulation, 
320 ;  conviction  of,  322 ;  receives 
his  death-warrant,  325 ;  bids  fare- 
well to  his  family,  326 ;  his  exe- 
cution, 3:31;  the  expiation  of  his 
murder  in  1848,  335. 

Ney,  Madame,  at  the  Tuileries  to 
beg  for  her  husband's  life,  329. 

Oberkirch,   Baroness    of,  quoted, 

149. 
(Edipe  a  Colone, opera  of,  the  court 

at  the,  110. 
Orleanism,  the  birth  of,  137. 
Orleans,  Duchess  of,  her  return  to 

Paris,  132,   133;  her  salon,  136; 


not  at  harmony  with  the  Duch- 
ess of  Angouleme  in  London, 
252. 

Orleans,  the  Dowager  Dachess  of, 
134 ;  receives  a  pension  from  Na- 
poleon, 148. 

Orleans,  Duke  of,  at  Palermo,  129 ; 
goes  to  Paris,  130,  131;  his  ca- 
reer, 135;  disliked  by  the  King 
and  by  the  royalists,  137;  his 
double  character,  139  et  se.q. ;  the 
representative  of  the  new  ideas, 
141 ;  sent  by  the  King  to  Lyons, 
190;  suspected  of  ambitious  de- 
signs, 251;  refuses  to  obey  the 
King's  summons  to  come  to 
Ghent,  252. 

Paris,  aspects  of,  under  the  Resto- 
ration, 64  et  seq. 

Polastron,  Countess  of,  her  death, 
and  the  inHuenee  over  the  Count 
of  Artois,  97. 

Pozzo  de  Borgo  urges  the  King  to 
return  to  Paris  quickly,  2()4,  265. 

Prussia,  King  of,  at  Paris,  43. 

Puymaigre,  Count  of,  his  descrip- 
tion of  Louis  XVIII. 's  court,  51; 
quoted,  ()5;  on  the  Prince  of 
Conde',  144;  quoted,  184;  on  the 
sentiments  of  the  army  in  Paris 
on  the  return  of  Napoleon,  193 
et  seq. ;  .quoted,  215. 

Recamier,  Madame  de,  salon  of, 
after  the  Restoration,  66. 

Re'musat,  Madame  de,  on  the  blood- 
thirsty speeches  of  the  great  la- 
dies against  Marshal  Ney,  313. 

Remusat,  M.  de,  on  the  escape  of 
Lavalette,  365. 

Restoration,  the  Second,  X2et8eq.; 
the  proscribed  of,  277. 

Richelieu,  Duke  of,  letters  to  and 
from  the,  and  Fouche,  305;  the 
prosecutor  of  Marshal  Ney,  314. 

Saiut-Ouen,  Declaration  of,  24. 
Sauvo  submits  to  VitroUes  articles 


INDEX 


403 


for  the  Monitevr  Officiel,  218; 
reinstated  as  editor  of  the  Mon- 
iteur,  268. 

Savary,  40. 

Schwarzeuberg,  Prince,  fete  of,  46. 

Soult,  Marshal,  his  pronounced 
royalist  tendencies,  165  ;  says  he 
can  rely  on  the  army,  182 ;  proc- 
lamation of,  to  the  army  on 
Napoleon's  landing,  193. 

Spanish  troops  asked  for  by  the 
Ducliess  of  Angouleme,  227. 

Spectator, the  story  in, told  by  Louis 
XVIII.,  7. 

Stael,  Madame  de,  her  impressions 
on  returning  to  France,  44  et  seq. ; 
on  society  after  the  Restoration, 
52  et  seq.,  61,  ()4 ;  salon  of,  66; 
quoted,  74, 153 ;  on  the  obsequies 
of  Louis  XVI.,  177  ;  thanked  by 
the  King  for  a  copy  of  Necker's 
defence  of  Louis  XVI.,  180;  on 
the  landing  of  Napoleon,  188, 190; 
pays  her  respects  to  the  King 
after  Napoleon's  landing,  195 ; 
her  comments  on  the  return  from 
Elba,  196. 

Talleyrand  meets  Louis  XVIII.  at 
Compiegne,  19;  and  the  Prince 
of  Conde,  anecdote  of,  145;  Fouche 
meets  Louis  XVIII.  at  Saint 
Denis,  264;  appointed  Grand 
Chamberlain,  304. 

Talleyrand,  Madame,  sings  hymns 
to  the  Bourbons,  29. 

Thiers,  M.,  on  Louis  XVIII.'s  ap- 


pearance, 79;  on  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  and  the  Orleanists,  138. 

Trognan,  M.,  quoted,  132, 136. 

Tuileries,  Louis  XVIII.  and  his 
court  at,  51. 

Vaulabelle,  M.  de,  quoted,  117, 138. 

Vichy,  the  Duchess  of  Angouleme 
at,  119  et  seq. 

Viel  Castel,  Baron,  on  Napoleon's 
companions-in-arms,  17 ;  quoted, 
116,  137,  250;  on  the  proscrip- 
tions of  the  Second  Restora- 
tion, 278 ;  testifies  to  the  ferocity 
against  Marshal  Ney,  313. 

Villenoisy,  Captain  de,  faithful  to 
the  King,  240. 

Vitrolles,  Baron  de,  quoted,  18,  20, 
23,  27,  35,  39,  43,  58 ;  his  account 
of  the  petitioners  for  rank,  69, 
his  Lettres  du  Cousin  et  de  la 
Covsine,  70;  his  description  of 
Louis  XVIII. ,  79;  sends  Louis 
XVIII.  a  despatch  containing  the 
news  of  the  landing  of  Napoleon, 
189;  quoted,  210,  216;  sent  by 
the  King  to  Bordeaux,  217,  218 ; 
delivers  the  King's  letter  to  the 
Duchess  of  Angouleme,  225;  on 
the  proposal  as  to  the  Spanish 
troops,  227;  on  the  reception  of 
the  King  in  Paris,  268,  298,  300. 

Wellington,  the  Duke  of,  at  Ghent, 

257. 
Wilson,  Sir  Robert,  aids  Lavalette 

to  escape,  367. 


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C/T- 


A     000  665  512     0 


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